


Did you order some company?

by theoddkid



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Non-Idol AU, Slow Burn, Tenn being overprotective, Texting, Wrong Number AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-06-27 22:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 38,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15694896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoddkid/pseuds/theoddkid
Summary: In which Iori messes up and enters the wrong number when letting a costumer know that their order is ready and accidentally reaches Riku. Though it was accidental the two of them keep talking and somehow grow even closer than they ever could have imagined.





	1. Wrong number

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story both on this site and in this fandom. I got into IDOLiSH7 this january and I've been completely obsessed since. Since the very beginning I have had a strong love for the ioriku pairing and thus I decided to try and write a fanfic for them. I apologize for any mistakes, it's been roughly 5 years since I last wrote a proper fanfic and english is not my native language. If you see any mistakes in my spelling or grammar, I wouldn't mind if you pointed them out. Also this story is completely un-betad. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Iori (15:34) We at Fonte Chocolat have just finished your order, you may come by to pick it up at any time that suits you. Thank you for being one of our valued customers.  


??? (15:37) I haven’t ordered anything though?  


??? (15:37) And what is “Fonte Chocolate”? Can you buy candy there?  


Iori (15:38) What do you mean you haven’t ordered anything? You were here earlier today and ordered a birthday cake for your daughter, I’m just here to tell you that it’s finished and that you may come to pick it up. Also, it’s “Fonte Chocolat”, without the “e” at the end, at least spell it correctly! And no, you don’t buy candy here, you buy baked goods.  


Iori (15:39) Are you even supposed to reply to these messages? We’re a business, normal people would just read it and come pick up what they’ve ordered!  


??? (15:40) But I haven’t ordered anything! I don’t even have a daughter!  


??? (15:41) Are you sure you didn’t just send it to the wrong person or something?  


Iori (15:42) …  


Iori (15:42) It seems you are correct, I am awfully sorry to have disturbed you. Please, forget this conversation ever happened. Have a good day.  


??? (15:43) Why so formal all of a sudden?  


??? (15:45) Hello?

??? (19:11) Hello again Mr/Mrs Baker! I was just wondering what ended up happening with that person and their order! Have they come to pick up their cake yet?  


Iori (19:15) Firstly, what’s with that name? Secondly, it was resolved quickly after you pointed out my mistake, it seems I got the last digit wrong and reached you instead. The lady who actually ordered the cake came by to pick it up earlier today. Thirdly, why are you still talking to me?  


??? (19:16) Well I don’t know anything about you other than the fact that you work at a bakery, so Mr/Mrs Baker seemed relevant! And I was bored, I don’t really talk to people over text messages that often! ^^  


Iori (19:17) Well, technically I’m just a part timer. It’s my parents’ bakery so I’m helping out over the summer vacation before going back to school.  


??? (19:18) Oh, you’re a student? That means I’m probably older than you! I just graduated recently! Which year are you in?  


Iori (19:18) I’m a third year in high school, if you just graduated that would make you a year older than me, correct?  


??? (19:19) Yes, I actually just turned 18! That would make you 17, right? Or are you still 16?  


Iori (19:19) I’m 17, my birthday was in January. When was you birthday?  


??? (19:20) July 9!  


Iori (19:20) If that’s the case, happy belated birthday.  


??? (19:20) Thank you! ^^  


Iori (19:20) If I may ask, what do you do? Are you a college student? Or do you perhaps have a job?  


??? (19:21) I work at a bookstore! My aunt owns it and it’s really close to where I live, plus I have always loved to read so I’m really happy about it!  


Iori (19:21) That sounds nice, based only on your personality I half expected you to be unemployed…  


??? (19:21) What was that? That’s so rude! You should respect your elders you know!  


Iori (19:22) Sorry, sorry.  


Iori (19:22) Even though you’re only a little bit more than 6 months older than me.  


??? (19:23) I’m still older, so you should still respect me! It doesn’t matter if it would have been multiple years or just a couple of minutes, you still need to treat your elders with respect!  


Iori (19:24) Ah, I see. You are one of those people who thinks the small details are important. Most people would not see it necessary to treat people who are only a couple of minutes older than them with extra respect.  


??? (19:24) Hmph! You’re so stingy!  


??? (19:24) I still enjoy talking to you though! Even though it was just because you messed up.  


Iori (19:25) Please just forget that.  


Iori (19:25) Why am I even still talking to you?  


Iori (19:25) I don’t know you, you could very well be an old man trying to trick me.  


??? (19:26) I’m not though! I promise! I just thought it could be fun talking to you!  


??? (19:26) Will you stop talking to me now?  


Iori (19:27) Why do I get the feeling I just made you sad?  


??? (19:27) Sorry, I just don’t really have that many friends so it was really nice talking to you…  


??? (19:27) I had a lot of fun, thank you!  


Iori (19:28) I had fun too…  


??? (19:28) Really?  


Iori (19:28) Yes, surprisingly so.  


??? (19:28) So I can keep talking to you like this?  


Iori (19: 28) What?  


??? (19:29) If you’re okay with it, can I text you again? It’s sort of nice having someone to talk to.  


??? (19: 36) If you don’t want to that’s fine too! I don’t want to force you!  


Iori (19:36) What makes you think I don’t want to?  


??? (19: 37) You were quiet for a while so I thought you were ignoring me?  


Iori (19:37) Sorry about that, my brother needed help with something.  


Iori (19:37) It’s fine if you want to keep talking like this. Like I said, it was kind of fun.  


??? (19:38) Really?!  


Iori (19:38) However, if you start acting suspicious I will block you.  


??? (19:38) I promise you I’m not someone suspicious! Also, thank you so much, that makes me very happy! ^^  


Iori (19:39) …  


Iori (19:39) You’re such a cute person…  


??? (19:39) Eh?? o.o  


Iori (19:39) Autocorrect!  


Iori (19:40) I meant to say simple. You’re such a simple person! Because you got happy about something so simple. Thus you are a simple person. That’s what I meant.  


??? (19:40) How does simple autocorrect to cute though?  


Iori (19:41) It just did!  


??? (19:42) Oh well, it’s not important! But, I wanna know your name!  


Iori (19:43) My name?  


??? (19:43) Yes, if we’re gonna talk more in the future I would like to know your name, or I’ll just keep referring to you as Mr/Mrs baker!  


Iori (19:44) I guess you are correct, it would make things easier if we knew each other’s names.  


Iori (19:44) My name is Iori Izumi, and just so that there is no confusion, I am a man, so no need to use Mrs…  


??? (19:44) Iori! Got it! Thank you so much!  


Iori (19:44) And yours?  


??? (19:45) My what?  


Iori (19:45) Your name! You can’t honestly believe that I will tell you my name without expecting to learn yours in return!  


Riku (19:45) Oh, sorry about that! My name is Riku Nanase, I’m also a guy, fyi ^^  


Iori (19:46) Nanase-san then.  


Riku (19:46) Why so formal?  


Iori (19:46) You were the one who was all nitpicky about respecting our elders and all that!  


Riku (19:47) I guess it’s fine then!  


Iori (19:47) Well, it has been interesting talking to you, but I need to go now, I have a few things I need to do.  


Riku (19:48) Aww, already? But I was having fun…  


Iori (19:48) Nanase-san, please stop acting like a whiny child, it really makes it hard to see you as an elder if you do.  


Riku (19:48) Then you can just see me as a friend! ^^  


Iori (19:49) It’s too soon for that!  


Iori (19:50) Anyway, like I said, I need to go.  


Iori (19:50) Good bye.  


Riku (19:50) Okay, I’ll talk to you more another time! ^^  


Iori (19:50) …  


Iori (19:51) Yes, I’ll talk to you later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the first chapter, I have more planned for this story, but currently I haven't gotten to writing any of it down. If I have inspiration, a chapter shouldn't take too long to finish, but I have a lot to do at the moment so I can't promise very frequent or regular updates, but I will try my best. Because of this you might get multiple chapters on the same day, or maybe it will be some time in between chapters, but know that I am planning to dedicate quiet a lot to this story and I am very excited to see where it goes! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you will enjoy future chapters as well! Kudos and comments are higly appreciated! ^^


	2. Many questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tries to get to know Iori better, but Iori just wants to do his damn work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm already back with the second chapter, I honestly didn't believe I would have another chapter ready today, so go me! ^^ Anyway, I'm sorry if the chapters may be a bit slow in the beginning, I just wanted to dedicate some 2 or 3 chapters to them simply getting to know each other, so the next chapter and perhaps the one after that will probably be something similar to this before the story starts progressing a bit more. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Riku (10:31) What’s your favorite color?  


Riku (11:18) How tall are you?  


Riku (12:49) Do you have any animals?  


Riku (13:12) Have you ever traveled to another country?  


Riku (15:07) How big is your family?  


Riku (16:22) What’s your favorite food?  


Iori (17:04) What’s with this onslaught of questions?  


Riku (17:04) You finally responded! Why have you been ignoring me all day?  


Iori (17:04) I was working, obviously you haven’t been doing the same.  


Riku (17:04) I have actually, there just haven’t been that many customers so I got bored…  


Iori (17:05) And thus you decided to play 20 questions with me?  


Riku (17:05) First of all, it wasn’t 20 it was 6! Secondly, we don’t really know all that much about each other, so I thought I would try to bridge that gap.  


Iori (17:05) I guess there’s no helping it then…  


Iori (17:06) Blue, 174 cm, a cat, no, my mother, father and older brother and I’m not picky about my food.  


Iori (17:06) Now you go.  


Riku (17:07) Huh???  


Iori (17:07) Have you still not learned anything? If I answer your questions I expect to get answers from you too.  


Riku (17:07) Oh, okay! Uhm, my favorite color is probably red? But I also really like pink and yellow… And blue is a very nice color too, just like you said!  


Iori (17:08) When one says “favorite” they usually imply that there’s only one.  


Riku (17:08) No need to be so stingy! But if I can only choose one then red!  


Riku (17:08) Probably…  


Riku (17:09) Also, I’m 173 cm tall, so it’s totally unfair that you are taller than me even though you’re younger!  


Iori (17:09) Just because I’m younger than you I don’t have to be the shorter one! Your statement makes absolutely no sense!  


Riku (17:10) Moving on, I don’t have any animals, nor have I ever had any, mom and dad says I can’t. I have never visited another country, just like you. I also live with my parents and I have an older brother! Well, technically we’re twins, but he’s the older one. He doesn’t live at home though, he’s studying music at a special college so he’s only home from time to time. And lastly, my favorite food is definitely omurice!!! It’s so delicious!  


Iori (17:13) Thanks for that mini novel, when do you plan to have it published?  


Riku (17:13) Well excuse me for not giving short and boring answers!  


Iori (17:13) So I’m boring now, am I? Before you were talking about just how fun it was talking to me, can you make up your mind?  


Riku (17:14) That’s not what I meant!  


Riku (17:14) You’re not boring, your answers were!  


Iori (17:14) I get it, no need to get so hysterical about it.  


Riku (17:14) I was not hysterical!  


Iori (17:14) Fine.  


Iori (17:15) Now that that is out of the way, I must ask you to please not message me so much while I’m working. You shouldn’t use your phone while working either, it’s unprofessional.  


Riku (17:15) Yes mom…  


Iori (17:16) I’m just stating the facts.  


Riku (17:16) Fine, I’ll try not to message you while you work.  


Iori (17:17) Thank you.  


Iori (17:51) I said not to message me when I work, but I’m already done for today.  


Riku (17:51) Meaning?  


Iori (17:51) That it’s fine if you talk to me more right now!  


Riku (17:52) Oh, I didn’t know if you were still working so I just kinda started doing something else…  


Riku (17:52) Did you want me to talk to you more?  


Riku (17:52) Were you lonely?  


Iori (17:53) No!  


Iori (17:53) I wasn’t lonely, you were saying you were lonely and bored and I thought I would be kind and entertain you is all.  


Riku (17:54) Why do I get the feeling you’re not being honest with me?  


Iori (17:54) How would I know?  


Iori (17:54) Anyway, I obviously wouldn’t have replied to the texts you sent me earlier if I wasn’t already done with all my work for today.  


Iori (17:55) Really, if you think about it, it’s not that hard to figure out.  


Riku (17:55) Are you calling me stupid?!  


Iori (17:56) No, I’m saying you should just consider all the facts before you draw any conclusions.  


Riku (17:56) Come on Iori! You’re not cute at all!  


Iori (17:57) What does me being cute or not have to do with you not thinking for yourself?  


Riku (17:57) Ugh, you can be really irritating sometimes, you know?  


Iori (17:58) Excuse me?  


Riku (17:58) Well, it’s fine though. I still like you, so don’t worry! ^^  


Riku (18:09) Iori? Are you okay?  


Iori (18:10) Sorry, but please don’t say cute stuff like that so suddenly…  


Iori (18:10) I mean, not cute! It was just kind of nice, but it’s not like I’m particularly happy about it!  


Riku (18:11) What’s this? So even Iori can be cute sometimes?!  


Iori (18:11) Ugh… Nanase-san, please just stop.  


Riku (18:11) Okay!  


Riku (18:12) Well, it’s time for dinner so I’m gonna go now. I’ll talk to you more some other time!  


Iori (18:12) Okay, bye.

Riku (13:33) Iori, what’s your favorite subject?  


Iori (13:35) Nanase-san! I thought I told you to stop using your phone during work!  


Riku (13:35) But isn’t Iori also using his phone during work? If you replied to me now that is…  


Iori (13:35) …  


Iori (13:36) I just happened to be on a break when you texted me is all.  


Riku (13:36) Also, you never told me when you work, so how could I possibly know when it would be okay to text you or not?  


Iori (13:37) Oh, well then, I will forgive you this time…  


Riku (13:37) Does that mean I can talk to you more now?  


Iori (13:38) No, I’m going back to work! Don’t text me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you find any mistakes, don't be shy and point them out! Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3


	3. Late nights and early mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku messages Iori late at night and early in the morning. He also discovers that Iori really isn't a morning person, but maybe something good can come out of all of this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god! Three chapters in three days! I have to say that I honestly didn't believe I would be this motivated to write this story, but it is a lot more fun than I thought! Also, if you have any questions, or if you wanna discuss/fangirl over ioriku or just i7 in general you can reach me either on my tumblr (efagerhag.tumblr.com) or on my twitter @EFagerhag, although I'm not that active on twitter... Thank you for reading this story, adn without further ado, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Riku (02:57) Iori, do you believe in ghosts?

Iori (02:58) Nanase-san, it’s almost 3 in the morning, why are you still awake? 

Riku (02:58) I just couldn’t sleep. Some nights are just like that for me. 

Riku (02:58) I'm sorry... Did I wake you? 

Iori (02:59) No, it’s fine. I was doing some preparations for work tomorrow. 

Riku (02:59) At 3 in the morning? 

Iori (03:00) I don’t think you have the right to criticize my sleeping habits mister I’ll-text-Iori-at-3-in-the-morning. 

Riku (03:00) Right, anyways, back to my question! 

Iori (03:01) I don’t believe in ghosts as there are no scientific facts that proves their existence. However, if such evidence were presented to me, I might change my mind… 

Riku (03:01) What would you do if I said I had such evidence? 

Iori (03:01) I would honestly be very surprised if you of all people could present me with such evidence. 

Riku (03:01) What’s that supposed to mean?! 

Riku (03:02) Ugh, but I do! I have evidence. 

Iori (03:02) Fine, I’ll listen, but I doubt you can change my mind. 

Riku (03:03) I’ve seen and talked to ghosts before. 

Iori (03:03) That doesn’t count as evidence, not unless there is someone who can confirm your statement. 

Riku (03:04) So Iori doesn’t believe me? 

Iori (03:04) …I never said that I didn’t believe you, I said it didn’t count as evidence. 

Riku (03:04) But you said you wouldn’t be convinced unless you were given evidence… 

Iori (03:04) True, but you have to admit that if you haven’t seen or talked to ghosts like you claim you have then it is a rather hard concept to grasp. 

Riku (03:05) I guess so… But I really have seen ghosts! 

Iori (03:05) Are you sure you didn’t just dream the entire thing up? 

Riku (03:05) Yes! 

Iori (03:05) Fine, I’ll believe that you are certain you’ve spoken to ghosts, however I do not actually believe in ghosts myself. 

Riku (03:06) Isn’t that kind of contradictory? 

Iori (03:06) …No it isn’t. 

Iori (03:07) Whatever, I’m starting to get tired, so I’ll be going to bed now. 

Riku (03:07) Okay! Thank you for talking to me, even though it’s so late… Good night! ^^ 

Iori (03:08) Good night… 

Riku (06:37) Iori, are you awake? 

Iori (06:37) Yes. 

Riku (06:37) Oh, did I wake you? If so, I’m sorry! 

Iori (06:38) No. 

Riku (06:38) That’s good! But are you okay? You seem a bit weird… 

Iori (06:39) Yes. 

Riku (06:39) Yes, you’re fine, or yes, you are acting weird? 

Iori (06:39) Fine. 

Riku (06:40) Ooookay, are you sure though? You don’t normally reply with just a single word… 

Iori (06:40) Yes. 

Iori (06:41) Just tired… 

Riku (06:41) Oh my! You managed to write 2 whole words!! O.O 

Iori (06:41) Ugh, shut up… 

Riku (06:41) No need to be rude! Are you perhaps not a morning person? 

Iori (06:42) Oh, look who decided to start using their brain. 

Riku (06:42) That was just mean! 

Riku (06:42) I won’t talk to you if you’re gonna be like this! 

Iori (06:42) Mhm… 

Iori (08:22) Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude! 

Riku (08:22) Nope! Not talking to you! 

Iori (08:23) You just did though… 

Iori (08:23) Anyway, I really am sorry! I’m just really not good with mornings, even though I like to get out of bed early so that I can get more done during the day, I’m always kind of grumpy… My brother is always pointing it out. 

Iori (08:24) I am so sorry Nanase-san! 

Riku (08:25) Okay, I forgive you! 

Riku (08:25) Only because it sounds like you enjoy talking to me! 

Iori (08:25) Huh? 

Riku (08:26) Well, when you apologize so intensely it seems as if you really don’t want me to stop talking to you and that made me very happy because I really like talking to you and I think it would be great if you felt the same way. 

Iori (08:27) I will admit that talking to you may be a bit more enjoyable than I first expected… 

Riku (08: 27) Or maybe you just didn’t want me to stop talking to you because then you’d be lonely? 

Iori (08:28) Well, unlike you I actually have friends so that’s not a problem! 

Riku (08:28) Meany! I do have friends!! 

Iori (08:28) Weren’t you the one who wanted to talk to me BECAUSE you didn’t have any other friends to talk to? 

Riku (08:29) I didn’t say that! I said that I didn’t have that many friends, but I do have some! 

Iori (08:29) Oh really? 

Riku (08:31) I mean, there’s my brother, even though he’s not home all that much, and he doesn’t really message me either, except for the occasional check-up. I guess my brother’s friends are okay too, although I’ve only talked to them once through a webcam before. Then there’s also my aunt, the one I work with! AND there’s this really nice guy that frequents the bookstore where I work! He’s really calm and comfortable to be around, he sort of reminds me of my brother, which was kind of the reason I approached him in the first place… I think he’s studying at the college nearby. Also, he sometimes brings this foreign friend of his, and he is super talkative and nice! 

Riku (08:32) And then there’s you! 

Riku (08:32) So you see! I do have friends! 

Iori (08:33) I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this… 

Iori (08:33) First of all, your brother and aunt doesn’t count, they are your family, your aunt is also your boss. Not to even mention your brother’s friends… Then those two customers, just from what you told me I wouldn’t count them as friends, more like acquaintances. 

Riku (08:34) You didn’t deny it just now! 

Iori (08:34) Didn’t deny what? 

Riku (08:34) That you’re my friend! 

Iori (08:35) I literally just shot down most of your possible friends and the thing you comment on is me not denying being your friend? 

Riku (08:35) It just made me happy! See, I like the thought of you seeing me as a friend, but I wasn’t so sure that you did, and I didn’t know how to bring up the topic either… So you thinking of me as a friend would make me SUPER happy!! ^^ 

Riku (08:36) Do you see me as a friend…? 

Iori (08:36) … 

Iori (08:36) I guess… somewhere along the line, I may have started viewing you as a friend… 

Riku (08:36) Really?! YAY!!! 

Iori (08:37) This is the first time I’ve seen someone as a friend after just a couple of days… I’m usually more reserved. 

Riku (08:37) I guess that makes me special? 

Iori (08:37) Yes, it certainly does. 

Riku (08:38) Stop it! You’re making me blush! 

Riku (08:39) I don’t get you… One minute you’re calling me stupid, and the next you tell me that I’m special to you… 

Riku (08:39) I’m still really happy though! ^^ 

Iori (08:40) I-I see. 

Iori (08:40) That’s good. 

Riku (08:41) Did you just stutter via text? 

Iori (08:41) Nope. No. I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

Iori (08:42) Anyway, I need to go help mom with something. Bye. 

Riku (08:42) Haha, okay! Have a good day Iori! ^^ 

Iori (08:43) You too…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to you if you got who the college student who frequents the bookstore and his foreign friend is! Anyway, Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are very appreciated! ^^


	4. Apples or oranges?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Riku is cute, Iori is an embarassed mess (as usual), and they are both total brocons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I've finished another chapter much faster than I had expected! It's just so much fun writing this, and it really makes me happy to read your comments! They really inspire me to keep writing! I have a the next couple of chapters planned out, until chapter 10, although not in great detail. So at least until then you can probably expect uppdates quiet frequently, but I'm not gonna make any promises. If you wanna reach me you may find me on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag. Enjoy this chapter!

Iori (12:16) What do you think would go best with strawberries, apples or oranges? 

Riku (12:16) Both sound like kind of weird combos, but maybe apple? 

Riku (12:16) Why? 

Iori (12:17) We’re trying to come up with some new pastries for the bakery, it’s quiet a lot of experimenting, but we don’t want to use up too much of our ingredients. 

Iori (12:17) So I tried asking some people to get a better idea of what to make. 

Riku (12:18) I see! That sounds really interesting! I want to try something that Iori made sometime! 

Iori (12:18) Nii-san is a much better baker than I am, so I would actually recommend that you eat something that he has made instead. 

Iori (12:18) His sponge cakes are always so fluffy and sweet. And whenever he makes cookies they always have this perfect crunchiness to them. Like, they’re not too soft, but neither are they too hard or crumbly. 

Iori (12:19) And his deserts are great too, like his mousse! He always manages to get just the right flavor, not too sweet, nor too sour, and they never taste too little. 

Iori (12:19) He is also great at decorating, so his cakes and cupcakes always look just as pretty as they taste! 

Iori (12:20) And whenever he’s baking, the entire building smells sweet and it’s really relaxing. He really is the best baker I know! 

Riku (12:20) That sounds great, and I definitely want to try his pastries, but what I meant in my previous text was that I specifically want to try something that YOU made! 

Riku (12:20) Because Iori is my friend! 

Iori (12:21) …Thank you. 

Riku (12:21) Are you embarrassed now? ^^ 

Riku (12:21) Did I make you blush? 

Iori (12:21) You certainly did not! 

Riku (12:21) I’m gonna take that as a yes ^^ 

Iori (12:22) Ugh, you can be infuriating sometimes… 

Iori (12:22) I’m just not really used to this whole “friend” thing yet… 

Riku (12:22) Oh no! Did I make you uncomfortable? 

Riku (12:22) If you think I’m too pushy you just have to say so! 

Iori (12:23) It’s fine, you’re not too pushy. 

Riku (12:23) Then I’m glad! 

Riku (12:23) Do you want to know another reason why I’m glad? 

Iori (12:24) What? 

Riku (12:24) Today was the first time you started the conversation! 

Iori (12:24) ? 

Riku (12:25) It’s always me who messages you first! Well, if you don’t count that first message that you’d sent me by mistake anyway… But today you actually started the conversation! So, I’m just very happy about it ^^ 

Iori (12:25) Is that really something to get that happy about? You really are such a simple person. 

Riku (12:26) Don’t you mean cute? ;) 

Iori (12:26) I TOLD YOU THAT WAS A MISTAKE PLEASE FORGET ABOUT IT ALREADY 

Iori (12:27) Besides, most guys probably wouldn’t be that happy to be called cute, right? 

Riku (12:27) Well, I would like it if you thought I was cool, but I wouldn’t dislike it if you thought I was cute too. 

Riku (12:27) Maybe because it’s Iori, I don’t mind being thought of as cute! ^^ 

Iori (12:28) …What’s with that? How can you say such embarrassingly cute things just like that? 

Riku (12:28) You called me cute again! 

Iori (12:28) My mistake, forget about it. 

Riku (12:28) Nope! ^^ 

Iori (12:29) Ugh, I don’t know why I bother with you. 

Riku (12:29) Because I’m cute? 

Iori (12:30) That’s not it! I already told you to forget about it! 

Riku (12:30) Okay, I’ll stop. 

Riku (12:30) For now! 

Iori (12:31) Yep, still don’t know why I bother with you. 

Riku (12:31) Meany!! 

Riku (12:31) Anyway, are you working right now? 

Iori (12:31) Yes, I’m in the kitchen, why? 

Riku (12:32) Isn’t that contradictory? 

Iori (12:32) What is? 

Riku (12:33) You kept complaining about me contacting you while you were working, yet you’re writing to me in the middle of the day! It’s not fair! 

Iori (12:33) I-I just happened to have some time on my hands is all, and for the record, the question that started this conversation had to do with my work so it’s fine! 

Riku (12:33) But then why did you keep talking to me? Is it okay for you not to get back to work? 

Iori (12:34) That’s your fault! Don’t make me like talking to you, or I won’t be able to stop! 

Iori (12:34) Wait, that’s not 

Iori (12:35) That’s not what I meant! 

Riku (12:35) You can’t just say stuff like that! 

Riku (12:35) You’re gonna make me cry… 

Iori (12:36) Wait, you’re not actually crying, are you? 

Riku (12:36) You just shocked me a bit is all, but thank you! I like talking to you too! 

Iori (12:36) Which you seem to constantly be able to remind me of. 

Iori (12:36) Anyway, I didn’t disturb you, did I? Texting you during working hours I mean. 

Riku (12:37) You didn’t! Actually, I caught a cold the other day, so I’m taking some time off. 

Iori (12:37) It’s already august, who catches a cold in the middle of summer? 

Riku (12:37) I blame the old man that sneezed on me in the bookstore the other day! 

Iori (12:38) Are you okay though? 

Riku (12:38) I’m fine! It’s just a cold. 

Iori (12:38) That’s good to hear, I hope you get better soon. 

Riku (12:39) Thank you so much, Iori! 

Riku (12:39) Now I feel more motivated to get better faster! 

Iori (12:40) I told you to stop saying that stuff… 

Riku (12:40) Haha, I’m sorry. Anyway, I noticed this earlier, but you really look up to your brother, don’t you? 

Iori (12:40) What’s with that sudden change of topic? 

Riku (12:41) Nothing special! I just noticed that you got really passionate when you talked about your brother’s pastries! 

Iori (12:41) What are you implying? 

Riku (12:42) Nothing! I totally get you! I told you that I also have an older brother, right? Although we’re twins. 

Iori (12:42) You did. 

Riku (12:43) It’s just that I really look up to him! He’s so kind, and caring, and cool, and smart! And he also sings really well! He’s always managed to put a smile on my face, no matter what! He’s always taken super good care of me! He’s the best! 

Iori (12:44) Wow, a real life brocon, I can’t believe it. 

Riku (12:44) Hey! You have no right to call me a brocon when you went on for much longer about how great your brother was, if anything, you’re the brocon here! 

Iori (12:45) Just because I look up to him as a fellow baker doesn’t mean I’ve got a brother complex! 

Riku (12:45) Ugh! Anyway, I was gonna say that it seemed nice, how close you two were! 

Riku (12:45) My brother’s away at college and he only comes home during the holidays… I miss him, and it was nice to see you thinking so dearly of your own brother is all… 

Iori (12:46) …It’s fine, but if you miss him so much, why don’t you just talk to him? 

Riku (12:46) It’s not that simple! Why do you think I wanted to talk to you so much in the first place? 

Iori (12:46) Wow, so I’m just a replacement for your brother? And here I thought you actually wanted to talk to me. 

Riku (12:47) Wait that’s not what I meant! 

Iori (12:47) I need to go back to work now. 

Iori (12:47) Good bye, Nanase-san. 

Riku (12:47) Wait, don’t go! 

Riku (12:48) I didn’t mean that! 

Riku (12:48) I really love talking to you! You’re not just a replacement, you’re so much more! 

Riku (12:48) You’re my friend! 

Riku (12:49) You’re my first real friend! 

Riku (12:50) I’m so sorry Iori, please respond. 

Riku (12:51) Please… 

Riku (12:52) I don’t want to be left alone again… 

Riku (12:55) Iori…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaahhh I'm sorry! I was not planning for the chapter to end this way when I started writing it, it just sort of happaned... And I did want to add some drama, so thus that happened. But stay tuned to see them possibly (probably) resolving this issue! Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	5. Iori's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their little argument, Iori desperately tries to find some sort of distractions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be a little different, as will the next. It won't be in texting format as I wanted to create a better picture of what the two boys went through in the time from their fight until they made up, in other words, what happened when they weren't talking to each other. There will be more chapters like this in the future, also there may be some chapters which will include both texting and normal text.  
> Also, happy third anniversary to IDOLiSH7!!! <3 This game/anime/fandom means so much to me and I'm so glad to be part of it! To celebrate I will actually post two entire chapters today! The next one will be up in a little while! ^^

Rubbing his eyes, Iori slowly sat up in his bed. His head was pounding, and he made a mental note to get some painkillers from the cabinet in the bathroom before heading down for breakfast. Reaching out towards his bedside table to grab his phone he saw that it was currently 7:23 in the morning, which was later than he would usually wake up, and also that he had nine new text notifications. All of them were from Riku. He ignored all of them, put his phone back down and started dragging his feet across the room to get to the bathroom in order to get ready for the day. 

Recalling yesterday’s events just made the pain in his head stronger, really, it shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did. He barely knew Riku, yet what he had said yesterday still hurt quiet a bit. He tried to just forget everything but somehow, he couldn’t. In the end, he succumbed to his fate, stayed up until 5 AM while trying desperately to deny that he was thinking about the boy he had been texting with for the duration of his summer vacation, thus his pounding head. 

Having taken some medicine, he got dressed and started to head downstairs. Not even the scent of his brother’s homecooked pancakes seemed to be able to cheer him up, which, according to Iori, was just stupid. Being this badly off after just that one comment really wasn’t good. Maybe he was catching a cold or something? And that was why he felt more off than he would’ve otherwise. He decided that that must be the case. 

“Morning Iori! Did you sleep well? You looked a bit out of it yesterday…” Mitsuki greeted as Iori entered the kitchen. Iori just sighed in response as he sat down at the kitchen table, awaiting his brother’s pancakes, hoping that they would make him feel better. 

“Wow, you’re grumpier than usual this morning, what’s wrong?” Mitsuki looked concerned as he placed a plate with some pancakes on it in front of Iori. Iori immediately started eating, and as he swallowed his first bite he realized that his brother was actually expecting a reply. 

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Mitsuki did not look convinced. Not at all. Wow, Iori really needed to find a more effective way of getting out of his brother’s interrogations. So far, he had come up with nothing. 

Mitsuki continued to stare him down with his ‘not impressed’ look, hoping Iori would cave under the pressure. When he said nothing, Mitsuki decided to speak. “I can clearly see that something is bothering you. You tend to keep things to yourself, and it’s not that I doubt that you’ll take care of it, I just worry that sometime, you’ll tear yourself down. You’ve got to depend on people from time to time you know.” Iori sighed. 

“I know, Nii-san. I’m sorry if I worried you, but really, it’s nothing serious.” 

“Well, if you ever want to talk about it, then you know where to find me!” 

Iori smiled a genuine smile for the first time since he received that text yesterday. His brother really was great. Just as he thought this, however, Mitsuki poked him in the cheek and looked at him funnily. “Just make sure you get some proper rest today. You’ve got huge bags under your eyes and it looks like you barely slept. Besides, you have today off anyway, so don’t do anything to tiring.” 

Iori blushed and hurriedly pushed Mitsuki’s hand out of his face. “I know that already!” He said a bit flustered. And to think that all his brother did was laugh. As he rose from the chair on Iori’s left to leave the kitchen he turned around to look at his brother once more. 

“Just so you know, I’ll be heading out soon. Yamato asked me to help clean out his apartment.” 

Iori raised an eyebrow at this. “I know that you two have been friends since high school, but do you really need to help him clean?” At this Mitsuki just chuckled. 

“Well, that old man is hopeless, besides, he’s moving to a new apartment this week, and since I can’t really help with the move since I’m working, I promised to help him get ready for it.” Iori nodded and simply continued to eat his breakfast as he hoped that finishing off the last of the homework he was given before the break would distract him from thoughts of a certain someone. If he was desperate enough, he might even try to help his absolutely hopeless classmate/friend, Tamaki Yotsuba, with his homework. Hopefully though, he wouldn’t become that desperate. 

As it turns out, Iori really was desperate enough to use his friend as a distraction. And it worked. Until he started heading home. As soon as he wasn’t concentrating on making sure his friend understood their schoolwork, thoughts of Riku Nanase would resurface. That, and he was also slightly worried his family was out looking for him, since he never told them he left, and he had also left his phone at home, hoping it would help take his mind off Riku. 

As he reached his home he slowly opened the door, hoping everything would be fine. Maybe they hadn’t noticed that he had left, he did usually just stay in his room on his days off after all, apart from the occasional walk. 

Sadly, he did not get what he wished for, the moment he entered he saw his brother standing in the entranceway. He did not look particularly happy. “Where have you been? I thought I told you to rest today!” He said the moment the door closed behind Iori. 

“Yotsuba-san just called me over to help with his homework is all. You didn’t need to worry like that.” Was all Iori said in response. 

“Well, at least take your phone with you next time! And make sure you go let mom know you’re back, she was worried sick since she couldn’t reach you. Dad convinced her to wait until later tonight with calling the police.” Iori winced, he did not expect that his mother would consider calling the police after he left. He hummed in acknowledgement to his brother after which he went to reassure his parents that he hadn’t died or been kidnapped during one of his walks. 

Walking up to his room he saw that his brother had apparently taken to sitting on his bed rather than standing ominously in the entranceway. “Why are you here? Did you need something?” He asked. The only thing he got as a response was Mitsuki patting Iori’s bed beside him. Iori sat down and looked at his brother quizzically. 

“Hey Iori, is there something you want to talk about?” Mitsuki said and looked up with concerned eyes at his younger brother. Iori just sighed and said. “I told you this morning that it was nothing.” 

“Oh really, because earlier when I tried to call you and realized that you had left your phone here I noticed that you had a few unread text messages.” Iori froze, his mind running through all the different worst-case scenarios and possible countermeasures. 

“To be more exact, 34 unread text messages. All from the same person. It sounded like you two had gotten into a fight, most of them were just apologies.” At this Iori felt something tug at his heart. If someone had sent 34 messages trying to apologize, then those feelings were probably genuine… Still, he couldn’t quiet bring himself to let go of that seed of doubt that had been planted in his mind from their conversation yesterday. 

Despite the looks his brother was giving him, Iori decided to stay silent. To be honest, he didn’t really know what to say. 

“You know, I was wondering who you were talking to all the time. You’ve been on your phone a lot since a while back, and you’ve never been very keen on texting. Is this him? Riku Nanase?” Iori just nodded, still unsure of how to respond. 

“Who is he? Is he someone from your school? A classmate? A kouhai? Senpai?” 

Iori let a silent, breathy laugh leave his mouth before he finally started talking. “He’s not from my school, in fact, I’ve never met him before.” This caught his brother’s attention. “What do you mean you’ve never met him before?” 

“I was going to alert one of our customers that her order was finished, you know that blond woman who wanted a three-layered cake for her daughters 9th birthday? Except I messed up and entered the wrong number, which ended up with me reaching this guy. Normally, one would have probably just let me know of my mistake, but this guy was really persistent and kept contacting me, and sooner or later I guess I found myself replying to him. It’s actually quiet endearing to talk to him, he’s really simpleminded, yet his behavior is kind of childlike, despite being older than me…” 

Mitsuki just stared at his brother as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So, let me get this straight, you texted him by mistake, then he kept messaging you, which led to you regularly talking to him? You’ve never even met the guy Iori! What if he’s someone weird! What if he’s just fooling you! You can’t just trust everything a stranger tells you via text!” 

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Iori yelled back. Suddenly he just felt really angry. Angry at Riku for calling him a replacement. Angry at Mitsuki for saying offensive things about Riku. And angry at himself for still caring so much for Riku. 

“There’s just something about him, something about talking to him that just makes it really hard to stop! You know I’ve never been very good at communicating with others, much less making actual friends! But it’s different with him! When I talk to him, everything just comes so natural!” It took a while for Iori to process everything that he had just said, and once he did his face did a fantastic impression of a tomato. 

Mitsuki was honestly a bit taken aback by Iori’s words, he couldn’t deny that his brother genuinely seemed to care for this stranger. He gave Iori a soft smile and started talking again. “I know how much something like this must mean to you Iori, I just want to make sure that you’re being careful. You can’t be careless with things like this, it’s very easy to pretend to be someone you’re not via text. But, I am really happy that it seems like you’ve found such a good friend!” Mitsuki paused for a while to give his younger brother a smirk before continuing. “Although, from the passionate way you were talking about him, I kind of suspect that you might have developed a little man-crush on this stranger.” 

Iori just wanted to sink through the floorboards, or lock himself in his closet, or anything that would get him out of this situation really. This is not how he expected this conversation to end. “T-th-that is not t-true!” He stuttered out, which just made Mitsuki laugh. 

“Anyway, what kind of person is he? I’m kind of curious now.” He said and looked up at his brother with big eyes. “Can you tell me about him?” 

“Well…” Iori sighed. “Fine. He’s one year older than me, and he works in a bookstore owned by his aunt. He loves to read, and he claims that he can see ghosts. His favorite color is red. He has an older twin brother who is currently studying at a college and isn’t living at home. He has complained several times that he’s missing him. That is also sort of the reason for our fight, he implied that he was talking to me instead of his brother and I didn’t want to be thought of as a replacement, so I stopped talking to him. But somehow that backfired as I haven’t been able to get him out of my mind all day. He’s also a really simple person who gets happy over the smallest things, and he has really cute reactions whenever you tease him, he also doesn’t seem to mind being thought of as cute. Sometimes he seems to act a bit younger than he actually is, I think he’s one of those spoiled younger brother types…” 

Iori trailed off as he realized that he had been rambling about Riku for a while now, also Mitsuki was giving him a really sappy look, which honestly didn’t make him feel better at all. 

“He sounds like a good guy!” Mitsuki said happily. “If you don’t want to lose what you have, I’d suggest texting him back. It looks like he really feels bad about what happened, so don’t be too harsh on him and make sure that you forgive him.” After saying this Mitsuki stood up and headed for the door. Before he exited the room though, he turned around once more and said. “I’m glad my little brother finally found someone he likes!” Before closing the door behind him. Leaving a very flustered Iori behind. 

“I never said that I liked him…” Iori muttered to himself after his brother left, but nonetheless he decided to finally look at his messages for the first time since yesterday. What he saw made his chest feel funny and his eyes tear up. The entire screen filled up with apologies and various declarations that Riku ‘needed him’ or that he ‘missed talking to him’ or that he was ‘just as important as his brother’. And Iori thought to himself that, maybe, he had been overreacting a bit to the whole replacement thing. 

He took a deep breath and finally wrote his reply.


	6. Riku's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their fight, Riku is really down, he's not feeling too well, and he's in desperate need of a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here is the second chapter for today! Once again, Happy third anniversary i7!!!  
> If you want to reach me you may contact me on my Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on my Twitter: @EFagerhag. Although I would prefer Tumblr! ^^  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

There was a loud crash, and Riku felt a sudden pain in his behind as he for the third time that day had fallen down the ladder he used when placing books on the top shelves in the store. Despite still not being completely recovered from his cold, he had still headed in to work. His parents had been against it, they thought he should stay at home for a while longer since he still had a bit of a fever, and his asthma wasn’t in top condition either, with him being sick and all. Worrying about the situation with Iori wasn’t exactly helping his condition either. 

It was actually because of everything that had happened yesterday that he decided to head in to work today. He desperately needed the distraction. 

As he stood up and rubbed his sore butt he picked up his phone and sent the 27th message to Iori since the incident. He had yet to receive a reply from the other boy, in fact, Iori hadn’t even read his messages yet. He was being completely ignored, which made his chest hurt and his breathing more uneven. Thus, Riku decided to sit down and try to calm down for a while. Sorting the remaining books could wait he supposed. 

It was at this moment that the doorbell rang and two young men, only slightly older than Riku, entered the store. The redhead recognized them immediately. 

“Hello again Riku-san, I heard you caught a cold, is it any better now?” Said the first man. He was slightly taller than Riku, yet very thin. He was very pale, had violet eyes and his hair was a very light shade of purple, almost white. His name was Sougo Osaka. 

“I brought one of my new Kokona keychains for you! I have multiple ones, and they always cheer me up! Be happy, Riku!” Said the other man. Nagi Rokuya was a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes. He was annoyingly beautiful, no matter who you asked, they would all agree. He was in Japan as an exchange student from some country in northern Europe which Riku had honestly forgotten the name of, North-something. 

“Ah! Sougo-san! Nagi! I’m feeling a lot better now, thank yo- cough, cough!” As he started coughing the two college students quickly approached him. “You don’t seem all that fine to me, are you sure you should be working today?” Asked Sougo while Nagi patted Riku’s back in order to try and help calm his breathing down. 

“I-I’m sorry… for causing you trouble… Cough! I’m fine now.” Riku tried to collect himself so that he wouldn’t worry the other two. It failed, and sooner or later he had erupted in a full-blown coughing fit. Reaching for his bag he got out his inhaler and used it in order to calm down his attack. 

After a while he was almost back to normal and quickly made sure to apologize to Sougo and Nagi for causing them trouble, to which they both insisted that they were just glad they were able to help him. After some more conversation they convinced him to go home for the day. Riku talked to his aunt who was very understanding of his situation and gave him permission to leave. 

What Riku hadn’t expected however was for both Sougo and Nagi to wait for him outside the shop. “We couldn’t very well allow a sick person to walk home on his own!” Nagi said and Sougo insisted that they would make sure that he got home safely, without any more attacks. Not being in the mood to argue, he just let them follow him home. 

“Thank you for walking me home, you really didn’t need to.” Riku said as they reached their destination. 

“It was nothing, now make sure you get plenty of rest, that store is just not the same without you around!” Said Sougo, to which Nagi nodded his head violently. “Yes! You must take better care of yourself Riku! Kokona shall be watching over you!” He said passionately. Riku just chuckled, thanked them once again and then said his goodbyes. 

Once inside the safety of his home he felt both relieved and troubled. It was nice to be home, he really wasn’t feeling too well yet, but, without the distractions all thoughts of Iori and what had happened the day before came flooding back at full force. Riku could feel tears well up behind his eyes, crying was the last thing he wanted to do right now, so without thinking too much about his situation he wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and headed up to his room. 

As soon as he was inside his room he proceeded with changing his clothes into something more comfortable, texted Iori again, he had now reached 31 messages, and then putting on a movie to watch, hoping it would give him the distraction he needed. It worked! For about five minutes. 

This was the way Riku ended up spending his afternoon. Watching different movies or TV-shows until he inevitably lost interest and started thinking of other things, more specifically, Iori. Once this happened, he switched to something else to watch and this went on for a couple of hours until his parents came home and had dinner ready. 

Normally, dinner in the Nanase household would be filled with conversation and joyful moments. Not today though. Riku’s parents were worried for their son who, not only was still sick, but also seemed kind of sad. However, when they tried to talk to him about it he always shut them down. 

Later that night, after once again trying to contact Iori, which, much like his previous attempts, ended in failure, Riku received a phone call from his beloved brother, most likely because his parents had called to tell him that Riku wasn’t feeling well. They talked for a while, but Riku didn’t mention anything about Iori, not even to his beloved Tenn-nii. Which was weird, normally, Riku would talk about everything with Tenn, but somehow, he didn’t feel quite ready to let his brother know about this guy he’d been talking to for a while now. He would probably just scold him for talking to strangers anyway. 

After his talk with Tenn, Riku had taken a shower and changed into his pajamas, getting ready to head to bed early to hopefully catch up on some sleep. However, the moment he got into bed his phone lit up with a notification. Reaching to see what it was Riku almost dropped his phone when he saw that Iori had finally texted him back! 

Iori (21:54) I am so sorry for ignoring all of your messages, I just felt like I needed to sort my own thoughts out. Also, that made me realize that I overreacted the other day. I don’t mind all that much being thought of as a replacement if it means I can keep talking to you. 

Riku (21:55) What are you saying? You are not a replacement! I thought I made that clear in my previous texts! 

Riku (21:55) But thank you so much for replying! 

Riku (21:55) You have no idea how relieved I am! 

Riku (21:55) Thank you thank you thank you! 

Riku (21:56) I promise you that you are so much more than a replacement for my brother, that entire sentence came out wrong and just know that I never thought of you as something to ease my boredom since my brother wasn’t here! 

Riku (21:56) I really, really love talking to you, Iori! 

Iori (21:57) Calm down Nanase-san, didn’t I say that I forgive you? It was also an overreaction on my part, so I’m sorry too. 

Iori (21:57) I really don’t want to stop talking to you. 

Iori (21:57) No matter what… 

Riku (21:58) Thank you so much Iori! 

Riku (21:58) This makes me so happy! 

Iori (21:59) You are a very simple person after all. 

Iori (22:03) Nanase-san? 

Iori (22:03) Are you still there? 

Turns out that the moment Iori reassured Riku that everything was fine between them, the older boy was so relieved that he basically passed out from exhaustion. And as the minutes passed, Iori grew more confused and Riku more relaxed. Of course, the next morning Riku continued to repeatedly apologize for falling asleep, which Iori only found endearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that was quiet a lot, but I'm happy with how it turned out! I also feel really happy that I managed to get two chapters up today, since I wanted to do something a little bit special for the third anniversary! ^^ Thank you for reading this story, and also for leaving kudos and comments, those are what keeps me going above all! <3


	7. Guess who's back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iori and Riku has finally made up, Tenn is coming back home, and it's soon time for Iori to go back to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter update! Enjoy!  
> If you want to reach me you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag,tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag!

Riku (07:10) Good morning Iori! ^^ 

Iori (07:10) You sound happy… 

Riku (07:10) I am! We finally made up! It’s so nice to talk to you again! 

Riku (07:10) Although I might get mad again soon… 

Iori (07:11) Why? 

Riku (07:11) You didn’t reply to my ‘good morning’!!! 

Iori (07:11) Wow you really are like a child sometimes, I bet you’re pouting right now. 

Riku (07:12) Iori… 

Iori (07:12) Fine. 

Iori (07:12) Good morning Nanase-san. 

Riku (07:12) Thank you! :) 

Riku (07:13) Btw, did you notice what I learned? 

Iori (07:13) No…? Was I supposed to have noticed something? 

Riku (07:13) I learned not to text you before 7 AM because then you aren’t as grumpy anymore and can hold an actual conversation! 

Iori (07:14) Wow, I don’t know if I should be offended or proud. 

Riku (07:14) I think proud sounds better! 

Iori (07:14) Offended it is then. 

Riku (07:15) You’re not mad, are you? 

Iori (07:15) Nanase-san, you don’t need to worry. I won’t get angry and start ignoring you again for one simple mean comment. I just overreacted last time. Please, don’t be so careful, I like it better when you behave like your usual self. 

Riku (07:16) T-thank you! Then I’ll keep writing to you like always! 

Iori (07:16) Now who’s the one stuttering via text? 

Riku (07:16) Shut up! 

Riku (07:17) Do you have work today btw? 

Iori (07:17) Yes, but I’m going to be in the kitchen all afternoon, so if it’s then I might reply to your texts. 

Riku (07:17) I thought you didn’t want me to text you while you worked? 

Iori (07:18) I guess it’s fine… But just don’t be disappointed if I don’t reply immediately… 

Riku (07:18) Really?! Thank you! 

Iori (07:18) Do you also have work today? 

Riku (07:18) Nope, Tenn-nii’s coming home today, so I took some time off to spend with him! Since he doesn't come home very often! 

Riku (07:19) I’ll actually go meet him at the station later today! 

Riku (07:19) Oh, but don’t worry! I’ll still talk to you even if Tenn-nii’s here! ;) 

Iori (07:19) I wasn’t worried about that!!! 

Riku (07:20) Anyway, I need to go get breakfast now, but I’ll talk to you later? 

Iori (07:20) Yes, let’s talk later. 

Riku (13:44) Iori, can you talk right now? 

Iori (13:46) Yes, it’s fine, I might be a bit slow to respond though. 

Riku (13:46) That’s fine! 

Riku (13:46) I just got to the train station, only to learn that Tenn-nii missed his train so now I have to wait for a while until he arrives… So, I thought I could talk to you! 

Iori (13:47) I see. 

Iori (13:47) You know, I was wondering about something… 

Riku (13:47) What? 

Iori (13:48) Why would your brother be coming home now? Hasn’t the summer vacation already lasted for a long time? 

Riku (13:48) Yes, he was actually home at the very beginning so that we could celebrate our birthday together! After that he left to go to Okinawa with his two friends from college! 

Iori (13:51) I see, that would explain it. How long will he be staying? 

Riku (13:51) For two weeks! After that he needs to go back to school. 

Riku (13:52) When are you going back to school Iori? 

Iori (13:54) Next Monday, so this is my last week working at the bakery for now. 

Iori (13:54) I mean I will still help out when they need it, but I won’t work there as I’ve been doing over the break. 

Riku (13:55) When you go back to school, will you talk to me during your breaks? Or do I have to wait until you get home? 

Iori (13:55) I guess I’ll reply if I have time… 

Iori (13:55) But don’t expect me to reply during lessons!! 

Riku (13:56) Don’t worry, I won’t! 

Riku (13:57) Let me know if you need help with anything! I have already done everything in your year after all! Although I’m not very good at math or science or that stuff. I’m really good at history though! 

Iori (14:05) Thank you but I don’t think I’ll need it, I’ve never had any trouble with studying in the past. Besides, with your personality, it feels out of place to ask you for help. 

Riku (14:05) What’s that supposed to mean?! You’re so cruel! 

Iori (14:08) You just make it too easy. 

Riku (14:08) Hmph, whatever! 

Riku (14:17) I’m sitting on this bench while I’m waiting, and it’s pretty long, like 4 meters or something, and all of a sudden two old men come and sit down on the same bench. One sits at the side opposite of me, and the other decided to sit just beside me. Which would be fine, if they didn’t clearly know each other! 

Riku (14:18) Like, if you know him so well, why don’t you sit with him instead of me??? 

Iori (14:26) Wow, that’s… uncomfortable. 

Riku (14:27) Right?! 

Iori (14:27) Good luck with that. 

Riku (14:27) Thank you! ^^ 

Riku (14:33) Tenn-nii’s train is arriving! I might text you later tonight but if I don’t I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow! 

Iori (14:35) Okay, I hope you and your brother have fun. 

Riku (23:37) Iori, are you still awake? 

Iori (23:37) Yes, one thing you should know, I rarely go to bed before midnight. 

Riku (23:37) Oh, I thought you were one of those orderly people who goes to bed early, wakes up early, and is generally respectful and responsible. 

Iori (23:38) No, I’m one of those people who do to many things and isn’t satisfied until they are done well, which is why I’m always up so late. 

Riku (23:38) Maybe you should try to get some more sleep? 

Iori (23:38) Says the guy who has texted me in the middle of the night before. 

Riku (23:39) It’s not like I’m constantly up late though! It’s just that some nights I have trouble sleeping is all. 

Iori (23:39) Like tonight? 

Riku (23:39) Not really, I’m actually really tired… But Tenn-nii went to bed already so I was thinking I could talk to you a little bit before going to bed. ^^ 

Iori (23:40) Right, how was it? With your brother? 

Riku (23:40) It was great! It was so fun to meet him in person again! We talked about so much! 

Iori (23:40) Does he know about me? 

Riku (23:40) What do you mean? 

Iori (23:41) Well, does he know that you’re talking to a guy you’ve never even met before regularly? 

Riku (23:41) Not yet… He would probably freak out and confiscate my phone if I did that… 

Riku (23:41) He can be a bit overprotective sometimes… Not that I mind though! 

Riku (23:42) Also, just for the record, I trust you! Even if my brother wouldn’t. 

Iori (23:42) I actually told my brother the other day. 

Riku (23:42) What? How did he react? 

Iori (23:43) Well, to be honest he actually found out himself. He looked at my phone while I was ignoring you and asked me about it. 

Iori (23:43) He was a bit against it at first, but he said it was fine as long as I was careful. I think he was also sort of happy I had made another friend. 

Iori (23:43) And for the record, I trust you too. 

Riku (23:44) The way you said that made it sound like you don’t make many friends. 

Iori (23:44) I don’t. I spend most of my time with my family, my brother’s best friend comes over quiet a lot, so I guess he is kind of like a friend? Although I do actually have one friend in my class, but he’s hopeless and kind of annoying at times. 

Riku (23:45) I see! Then we’re the same! We don’t have that many friends! 

Riku (23:45) That means it’s important that we hold onto each other! ^^ 

Riku (23:45) Because I really like you, Iori! 

Iori (23:46) I think I need to go to bed now… 

Riku (23:46) Didn’t you say you didn’t sleep before midnight? 

Iori (23:46) I suddenly got really tired! 

Iori (23:46) Good night! 

Riku (23:47) Good night I guess? 

Iori (00:01) And I might kind of like you too…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that not that much happened this chapter but I just wanted a calm chapter now after their fight and there might be something coming real soon so look forward to the next couple of chapters, I have a few things planned! Thank you for reading and I really appreciate kudos and comments! <3


	8. Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamaki is curious, Tenn is busy, and both Iori and Riku are blushing dorks in love...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the new chapter! If you want to reach me you can do so on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag!

Iori (12:16) Hey 

Iori (12:16) Are you the one Iorin’s always texting? 

Riku (12:17) Yes? 

Riku (12:17) I’m sorry, what’s going on? 

Iori (12:17) I have an important question, so listen carefully! 

Riku (12:17) Okay… 

Iori (12:18) Do you like King Pudding? 

Riku (12:18) Yeah, it’s pretty good, why? 

Iori (12:19) Hell yeasfgfdhfkj 

Iori (12:19) I am so sorry Nanase-san, my phone was taken from me! 

Riku (12:19) I take it that was that friend/classmate of yours? 

Iori (12:19) Yes, Yotsuba-san was getting curious who I’ve been texting these past few days… Also, he is obsessed with King Pudding, therefor that question. 

Riku (12:20) Haha, it’s fine, really! What is he like? 

Iori (12:20) He’s kind of like a big man-child. He’s very emotional, not the brightest, really loves sweets and so on. But he’s nice so I try to put up with him. 

Riku (12:21) Aww, I’m glad you have such a good friend! 

Iori (12:21) When did I ever say that we were good friends? 

Riku (12:22) Well, you’re usually not that honest so I just figured out that that is what you meant ^^ 

Iori (12:22) Are you accusing me of lying? 

Riku (12:22) Nope, I’m accusing you of being too shy to admit your true thoughts! 

Riku (12:22) But it’s fine, that’s just another thing I like about you! 

Riku (16:07) Iori 

Riku (16:07) Iori! 

Riku (16:07) IORI! 

Riku (16:07) IOOORIIII!!! 

Iori (16:09) What? 

Riku (16:09) I’m bored, help me! 

Iori (16:09) If you’re bored then just do something. 

Riku (16:10) Wow, very helpful. Thank you. 

Iori (16:10) Isn’t your brother still there? Can’t you do something with him? 

Riku (16:10) He’s running errands for mom right now, so no. 

Riku (16:11) ENTERTAIN ME!!! 

Iori (16:11) What do you want me to do? I can’t magically ease your boredom! 

Riku (16:11) You always do though! I’m never bored when I’m talking to you! ^^ 

Iori (16:12) Really now? 

Riku (16:12) Yes! You don’t believe me? 

Iori (16:12) Well, I’m writing with you now and you’re complaining about being bored. 

Riku (16:13) But! This time is different! 

Iori (16:13) How so? 

Riku (16:14) Well, it’s not different but my point is that the moment you stop talking to me I will have nothing to do, and then I’ll be bored again! I’m not bored WHILE I’m talking to you, but if you don’t help me I will be after! 

Iori (16:14) Sometimes you make no sense. 

Iori (16:14) But I like that part of you. 

Riku (17:58) My brother just got back from those errands, so I thought we could do something together, but apparently, he can’t because he promised mom he’d help with some other things! 

Riku (17:58) Why doesn’t he make time for me anymore? :( 

Iori (18:00) Spoken like a true brocon. 

Riku (18:01) I am not a brocon! You’re a brocon! 

Iori (18:01) Wow, such a great comeback. 

Riku (18:01) You, shut up! 

Riku (18:08) … 

Riku (18:09) I didn’t mean literally! Please talk to me! 

Iori (18:09) Fine. 

Riku (18:09) Thank you. ^^ 

Riku (18:10) What are you doing right now? 

Iori (18:10) Homework, so I’m sorry if I’m a bit slow to respond. 

Riku (18:11) Okay, let me know if you need help! ^^ 

Iori (18:13) I won’t need help. 

Riku (18:13) Wow, thanks for the appreciation… 

Riku (18:13) But you’re right, I bet you can do it by yourself! Since you’re kind of smart! 

Iori (18:15) What’s with that ‘kind of’? I am smart. 

Riku (18:15) And apparently full of yourself… 

Iori (18:18) Excuse me? 

Riku (18:18) Just kidding! ^^ 

Riku (18:19) When’s your homework due? 

Iori (18:19) In 4 days. 

Riku (18:19) Aren’t you diligent? 

Iori (18:20) Got a problem with that? 

Riku (18:20) Nope, I like it! 

Iori (21:31) Did you manage to ease your boredom? 

Riku (21:37) Yep, I’m watching a movie with Tenn-nii! 

Iori (21:37) What are you watching? 

Riku (21:38) I can’t remember, honestly, we’re not really paying attention. We’re mostly talking. 

Riku (21:38) Since he’s not home that much, and is also really unsociable over the phone, it’s really nice to talk to him like this! 

Riku (21:38) Just like talking with you! It’s a lot of fun! Even though we do it all the time, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it… ^^ 

Iori (21:39) Me too… 

Iori (21:40) I really like talking to you. 

Just as Iori sent the message it was like he was hit with a flash of lightning. He really did like talking to Riku, but not only that, he really liked Riku as well. They had only been talking for a little over a month, but as they had gradually gotten to know each other Iori had started to get this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever the other boy crossed his mind. He had never felt like this before. The feeling had been there a long time, but as it started to dawn upon Iori just what this feeling might be he freaked out. 

His heart beat hard, fast and loud in his chest and his face felt way to warm to be normal. While trying to gather his thoughts only a single sentence would repeat itself. ‘Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.’ 

Iori liked Riku. 

Iori liked Riku, even though they had only known each other for a short period of time, even though he didn’t know what he looked like, even though he had never met him. Iori was crushing hard on this boy he had never met, and it was driving him mad. 

Riku looked down at his phone and smiled at the last message Iori sent him. He really liked talking to Iori and the fact that Iori felt the same way really made him happy. Thinking back on the day, there had been a lot of ‘likes’ in their messages. But he meant it, there were a lot of things he liked about Iori and he was very glad to have gotten to know him. And then, all of a sudden, it hit him. Riku looked up and stared intently at the wall, his face gradually growing hotter as his heartbeat sped up. 

“Riku? Is everything okay?” Tenn, who had been sitting beside him, trying to grasp the actual plot of the movie that was on the TV, asked. Riku barely registered the question, but once he had he spoke quietly. 

“I think I like someone…” 

This caught Tenn’s attention and he looked at his brother with a mix of curiosity, worry and doubt. “You think you like someone? Romantically or?” 

“Romantically, I think.” 

“Who? Since when? Do I know them? Are they nice?” Tenn’s onslaught of questions caught Riku off-guard, but he still answered all of them. “His name is Iori. I just realized, but I might have liked him for a while. You don’t know him, but he’s really nice.” 

“Him? It’s a guy?” Tenn sounded surprised. Riku immediately looked alarmed. Shit, did he just tell his brother he liked another guy? What was Tenn’s thoughts on same-sex relationships? What if he started hating him? “Is that a problem for you? You won’t hate me, will you?” 

“Of course not. You’re my brother and you know I love you. I was just surprised is all…” Tenn said while he pulled his brother in for a hug while also checking to make sure that Riku’s inhaler was nearby, just in case. “Why don’t you tell me more about him? How did you meet?” 

“Uhm…” Riku really wasn’t sure of what he was going to tell his brother. In the end he settled for this: 

“I actually haven’t met him.” 

“What?” 

“He accidentally entered the wrong number when he was gonna text someone and reached me, we’ve just kept talking over the summer…” 

“What?!” 

After that Tenn scolded Riku for over two hours and then confiscated his phone until three days later when he went back to college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, finally the two dorks realize that they may be a bit deeper into this whole "Texting buddy" relationship than they first thought... I hope you like it, there's more to come! Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are always appreciated! <3


	9. Moving forward...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku finally gets his phone back from Tenn and is eager to clear up the misunderstanding he likely caused because of his brother. Also, there might be some attempts at getting closer...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was actually really excited for this chapter as I had parts of it planned out since a long time back! I'm also really happy with how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy it!  
> If you want to reach me you can do so via Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or via Twitter: @EFagerhag

Riku (11:17) Iori omg I am so sorry for not answering your messages! 

Riku (11:17) I know it’s been a long time, but I can explain! 

Riku (11:17) Are you mad at me? 

Iori (11:19) You literally just ignored me for no apparent reason. For 3 days! 

Iori (11:19) At least let me know if I do something wrong! Or if you can’t talk! 

Riku (11:19) I knew it, you are mad… 

Riku (11:20) I am so sorry! Really! 

Riku (11:20) You did nothing wrong! I can explain why I haven’t been talking to you! You see, my phone was taken from me! 

Iori (11:21) Seriously? For 3 days? Are you joking now or…? 

Riku (11:21) I’m serious! 

Riku (11:22) Okay, so I may have told Tenn-nii about you, and he may have been super pissed at me and talked for hours about how it wasn’t safe and how I shouldn’t trust strangers that I’ve never met before. 

Riku (11:22) And then he confiscated my phone. For 3 days. 

Riku (11:23) I only got it back today because he’s leaving for college again and mom said he wasn’t allowed to bring my phone back with him since they wouldn’t be able to reach me if he did. 

Riku (11:23) Although he probably would have taken it if mom didn’t tell him not to… 

Iori (11:24) Wow, that is… 

Iori (11:24) I didn’t realize your brother was just as big of a brocon as you are. 

Riku (11:24) I’m not a brocon!!! 

Iori (11:24) Keep telling yourself that. 

Riku (11:25) But are we good? Do you forgive me? 

Iori (11:25) I guess it can’t be helped. 

Iori (11:25) Since it was mostly not your fault, I’ll forgive you. 

Riku (11:26) Thank you so much Iori! You’re the best! I don’t know what I would do without you! I love you! Thank you! 

Iori (11:26) What…? 

Riku (11:27) I mean, not love! Obviously not love! I just meant that I’m really grateful! Because you forgave me! 

Riku (11:27) That’s really all that was!!! 

Iori (11:27) I get it! You don’t have to freak out… 

Iori (11:28) It’s great that you got your phone back, but I need to go help with… something. 

Iori (11:28) Talk to you later. 

Riku (11:29) Okay, talk to you later! 

Riku (16:43) Hey Iori, we’ve known each other for a while now… 

Iori (16:44) I guess so? It hasn’t been that long though. 

Riku (16:44) Yeah, but like, it feels as if we’ve known each other for a long time! Or is that just me? 

Iori (16:44) …It’s not just you. 

Riku (16:45) Right? So that made think. You see, I had a sudden realization a while back. 

Iori (16:45) A realization about what? 

Iori (16:50) Come on, don’t leave me hanging! You got me all curious… 

Riku (16:51) Sorry, sorry. Mom entered my room and started talking. 

Riku (16:51) Anyway, my sudden realization. 

Iori (16:52) What was it? 

Riku (16:52) Despite us not having known each other very long, I feel like there’s just something special about this whole thing. 

Riku (16:52) You’re really important to me. 

Riku (16:53) Which is why I wanted to ask you… 

Iori (16:53) Yes? 

Riku (16:54) Why are you still calling me ‘Nanase-san’?! Isn’t it about time you start using my first name? Call me Riku!!! 

Iori (16:54) That’s what this is about? 

Riku (16:54) Yes! It’s bothering me! Please? 

Iori (16:55) I don’t know… It doesn’t seem appropriate. 

Riku (16:55) But you seem okay with me using your first name! You’ve never complained before! 

Iori (16:55) That’s different! 

Riku (16:55) How so?? 

Iori (16:56) It just is! 

Riku (16:56) Then when will it be appropriate?? 

Iori (16:56) How would I know? 

Riku (16:57) Well, I don’t wanna push you, so it’s fine to keep it as it is for now I guess… But just promise me that as soon as you feel comfortable with it, you’ll switch over to using ‘Riku’! 

Iori (16:57) Fine. 

Riku (16:58) Thank you! ^^ 

Iori (16:58) I’m sorry if I disappointed you, just, give me some time. 

Riku (16:59) It’s fine! Seriously, you don’t have to worry about it! 

Iori (16:59) Okay, thank you. 

Riku (17:00) So anyway… What are you doing? 

Iori (17:00) I just finished my homework before you texted me, so nothing much right now. Talking to you I guess. 

Riku (17:00) Haha, same! 

Riku (17:01) Minus the homework part. I don’t have homework. 

Iori (17:01) Yeah, I know. Are you going back to work tomorrow? Since your brother left. 

Riku (17:01) Yep! I’m actually looking forward to it since it’s been so long! There’s this special scent that you can only experience in a bookstore and I really like it! 

Iori (17:02) Scent? You like the scent of bookstore? 

Riku (17:02) Yep! ^^ 

Iori (17:02) Wow, I didn’t know that was a scent. 

Riku (17:03) Hey, it totally is! Like when you open a new book for the first time? It’s kind of like that, but better. 

Iori (17:03) I have been to bookstores before, you know. There’s not really a special scent… 

Riku (17:03) Well, at least there is at my aunt’s store! 

Iori (17:04) Well, since I doubt I’ve been there I guess I wouldn’t know. 

Riku (17:04) Exactly! 

Iori (17:05) Although, I’m still not convinced that there is a scent exclusively for bookstores. 

Riku (17:05) Oh come on Iori! Stop being such a stick in the mud! 

Riku (17:05) You’re not cute at all! 

Iori (17:06) You’ve never even seen what I look like, so you wouldn’t know that. 

Riku (17:06) I know, but still…! 

Riku (17:07) … 

Riku (17:07) Can I? 

Iori (17:07) Can you what? 

Riku (17:07) See what you look like… 

Iori (17:09) Are you suggesting we meet up? 

Iori (17:09) Like, in real life? 

Riku (17:10) No! I was thinking like a selfie! I don’t think I’m mentally prepared to meet with you yet… 

Riku (17:10) But I do wanna know what you look like… 

Iori (17:10) Hmm. 

Riku (17:11) You know what? Never mind! 

Riku (17:11) I gotta go! 

Riku (17:11) Mom wanted my help with something! 

Riku (17:11) Bye! 

Riku felt so embarrassed. He could not believe he had just asked Iori for a selfie. He had literally just asked his crush for a selfie. But it was true that he wondered what Iori looked like, it was a bit weird to talk to someone without knowing anything about their appearance. He had tried to imagine what Iori could look like many times, but the image he created in his mind never felt completely right. 

Riku sighed and stood up, as he left his room he deliberately left his phone, screen down, on his bed. Right now, he just wanted to forget that conversation ever happened. As a way to distract himself he decided he would see if his parents needed help with something. 

Helping with dinner, then eating and then cleaning his room had helped, but as he sat down on his beanbag later that evening attempting to read one of his books he realized that he was going to need to check his phone again sooner or later. His hands shook slightly as he picked his phone up from the bed and looked at it. 

He had one new message. 

It was from Iori. 

It was a picture. 

Riku took a deep breath as he unlocked his phone and opened his chat with Iori only to be met with pale skin, deep blue/gray eyes and black hair that fell slightly into his face. Riku didn’t really know what he had been expecting, but this was so much better than whatever he had made up in his mind. 

Iori was gorgeous. At least to Riku. 

As he realized just where his train of thought was going his face erupted into a blush that would rival even the color of his hair. Riku took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart as he started typing his reply. 

Riku (20:02) I was wrong… 

Iori (20:06) About what? 

Riku (20:06) When I said you weren’t cute at all… 

Iori (20:07) Oh. 

Iori (20:07) Thank you…? 

Iori (20:10) Riku? 

Iori (20:14) Are you still there? 

Little did Iori know that Riku was currently way too embarrassed to even look at his phone. He had turned it off and it was currently on the opposite side of his room. 

The next morning arrived and Iori woke up at 5:30, as he would on a school day, and reluctantly made his way out of bed. He picked up his phone and saw that apparently Riku had messaged him during the night. As he had just woken up, he was still a bit out of it, so he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked again. What he saw made his heartbeat speed up, his face turn red and his jaw drop. 

Riku had sent a selfie of his own. Iori was going to ask for it, since he himself had sent one yesterday and thought it was only fair. However, now that he actually saw the picture he realized that he had not been ready for this. How come that this boy he had known for a little less than two months could affect him like this? Seriously, Riku Nanase was not good for his mental health, he felt like one of those lovesick teenagers in dramas. He tried to calm himself down as he took a closer look at the picture he was sent. 

As he looked at red hair, scarlet eyes and a smile that rivaled the sun, only one word formed in his mind. 

“Cute…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy that I got this out! The part where Riku asks for a selfie was literally the very first part I planned out. When I was still trying to think up this AU I imagined this scene, and it's sort of the thing that inspired me to do this entire fic, so I'm really happy I got to this point! ^^ I'm usually not very good at this and loose motivation after a few chapters, but I'm still really eager to continue this story!  
> I also made some quick doodles of the selfies that they took, but please keep in mind that I'm not the best artist and these were made in a hurry, also, I'm lazy so I didn't do any backgrounds: https://efagerhag.tumblr.com/post/177354058038/quick-doodles-for-my-ioriku-fanfic-did-you-order  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well and stay tuned for more in the near future! Thank you for reading! As always, kudos and comments make me very happy, so thank you for those as well! <3


	10. Overprotective brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iori get's threatening messages from a certain someone and Riku is really tired of his brother being so overprotective. Tenn just wants his baby brother to be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 chapters! Yay! I was really not certain that I would get this far when I started this, so I'm really happy and proud of myself for sticking with this, so far I'm happy with how the story is turning out! Enjoy this chapter too! ^^  
> If you want to reach me you can do so on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag

??? (18:17) Is this Iori Izumi? 

Iori (18:21) Yes? Who are you? 

??? (18:21) Are you the one talking to Riku? 

Iori (18:22) Riku Nanase? 

??? (18:22) Yes. 

Iori (18:22) I am, why? How do you know Nanase-san? How did you get my number? 

??? (18:23) I saw it on Riku’s phone the other day. 

Iori (18:23) Okay, but seriously, who are you and what do you want? 

Tenn (18:23) Tenn Nanase. 

Iori (18:23) Is that your name? 

Tenn (18:23) Yes. 

Iori (18:24) Are you Nanase-san’s brother? He always calls him Tenn-nii so is that you? 

Tenn (18:24) Yes, that’s me. I’m Riku’s brother. 

Iori (18:24) What do you want? 

Tenn (18:24) I want you to stop talking to Riku. 

Iori (18:25) Why do I have to do that? As long as he wants to keep talking to me, I won’t stop. 

Iori (18:25) You can’t control his life or decide who he decides to let into it. 

Iori (18:25) Might I add, that in my opinion, it was very childish of you to confiscate his phone for 3 days. 

Tenn (18:26) Did he tell you I did that? 

Iori (18:26) Yes, is there a problem with that? 

Tenn (18:26) It doesn’t matter. Anyway, stop talking to him. 

Iori (18:27) I won’t do that. 

Tenn (18:27) Then just know that the moment that you hurt Riku in any way I will find you and end you. 

Iori (18:28) Aggressive much? 

Tenn (18:28) You shut up, stay away from my younger brother. 

Iori (18:30) So, I may have just had a very pleasant conversation with your older brother. 

Riku (18:30) With Tenn-nii? You’ve been talking to Tenn-nii? 

Riku (18:30) How? 

Iori (18:31) He saw my number on your phone when he confiscated it, and he just contacted me. 

Riku (18:31) Oh god, what did he say? 

Iori (18:31) He basically told me to stop talking to you. 

Riku (18:32) Don’t listen to him! 

Riku (18:32) He’s just crazy overprotective! He’s not really a bad person! 

Riku (18:32) Please don’t stop talking to me! 

Iori (18:33) Relax, I won’t. I told him that too. 

Riku (18:33) Thank you!!! 

Riku (18:33) How did he react to that? 

Iori (18:34) He told me that if I hurt you he would find me and end me. 

Riku (18:34) Oh my god… 

Riku (18:35) He won’t actually kill you, I promise. But I don’t doubt that he would try to find you… 

Iori (18:35) Wow, thanks, that makes me feel so much better. 

Riku (18:35) He’s really not a bad person though! 

Iori (18:36) It’s fine, I don’t mind the threats all that much. Besides, it would take more than your aggressive brother to stop me from talking to you. 

Riku (18:37) Really? 

Iori (18:37) I just meant that you having an aggressive brother doesn’t matter! Don’t get the wrong idea! 

Riku (18:37) Haha, it’s fine, I get it! 

Iori (18:38) That’s good. 

Riku (18:38) Do you want me to talk to him? 

Iori (18:38) To your brother? 

Riku (18:39) Yep! I could tell him not to bother you anymore! ^^ 

Iori (18:39) You don’t have to do that! I don’t want to be the reason you guys got into a fight… 

Riku (18:39) It’s fine! ^^ 

Riku (18:40) Tenn-nii 

Tenn (18:41) What is it, Riku? 

Riku (18:41) Please stop threatening my friends! 

Tenn (18:41) I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

Riku (18:42) I think you do. 

Tenn (18:42) Did that guy tell you? 

Riku (18:43) ‘That guy’ has a name! And can you stop trying to scare my friend away! I’m starting to think that you’re the reason why I don’t have any friends! 

Tenn (18:43) Stop that, you’re working yourself up again. It’s not good for your health. 

Riku (18:43) My health has nothing to do with this! Why do you always have to butt into my life like that! I really care about Iori, and you have no right to try and take that from me! 

Tenn (18:44) I’m sorry, okay! But you have never met this guy, what if he’s tricking you?! 

Riku (18:44) He’s not that kind of person! 

Tenn (18:44) You don’t really know that though, do you? 

Tenn (18:45) I just don’t want to see you get hurt. 

Riku (18:45) And I appreciate that, but I’m old enough to make my own decisions! 

Riku (18:46) If Iori does something bad, I’ll stop, okay? But he hasn’t done anything like that so far, and I’m willing to put my trust in him, so I’m asking you now, to put your trust in me on this. I’m not asking you to trust Iori, I’m asking you to trust me, to trust that if something goes wrong, I’ll be able to handle it. 

Riku (18:46) I’m not as weak as I was when I was younger. 

Tenn (18:47) I know that… 

Riku (18:47) Do you trust me? 

Tenn (18:47) …I do. 

Riku (18:48) Good, then stop threatening Iori. 

Tenn (18:48) Fine. 

Riku (18:48) Thank you. But I promise, that if he hurts me you’ll be the first I’ll tell, and then you are allowed to find him and do whatever you want. 

Riku (18:49) Just don’t do anything illegal, please. 

Tenn (18:49) I’ll try. 

Riku (18:50) Good! ^^ 

Tenn (18:50) Do you really like him though? As in romantically. 

Riku (18:50) Why do you want to know?! 

Tenn (18:51) Just tell me. 

Riku (18:51) I do. 

Riku (18:51) I really like him. 

Tenn (18:52) If you’re sure, then I just want you to promise me one thing. 

Riku (18:52) What? 

Tenn (18:53) That when you meet up, because you will have to one day, bring something to protect yourself with. Just in case he turns out to be some perverted old man. 

Riku (18:53) TENN-NII!! 

Tenn (18:53) What? It’s perfectly normal to be prepared. 

Riku (18:54) Fine, I promise. 

Tenn (18:54) Also promise to tell me when and where you’re meeting so I can come help you if you need it. 

Riku (18:54) You’re too protective! 

Tenn (18:55) Promise me! 

Riku (18:55) Okay! I promise! 

Riku (18:55) Happy now? 

Tenn (18: 55) Yes. 

Riku (18:59) I’ve talked to my brother now, and he promised not to threaten you anymore, and also not to do anything illegal to you if you do end up hurting me. ^^ 

Iori (19:00) Wow, how did you manage to do that? 

Riku (19:00) As you’ve pointed out before, he does have a soft spot for me. 

Riku (19:01) In other words, he listens to what I say! 

Iori (19:01) I see. 

Iori (19:01) Were you spoiled as a kid? 

Riku (19:01) Why are you asking? 

Iori (19:02) I can just picture you as the child who always got what he wanted by unconsciously manipulating the people around him. 

Riku (19:02) Hey! That’s rude! 

Tenn (20:02) You’ve probably heard from Riku already, but I won’t stop you from talking. 

Iori (20:04) I heard. 

Tenn (20:05) I may have promised Riku to stay out of whatever it is you two have going on, but just know that if you hurt him I won’t hesitate to hurt you in a way that's way worse than whatever you did to him. 

Tenn (20:05) Have I made myself clear? 

Iori (20:06) I thought you promised not to threaten me again? 

Tenn (20:06) … 

Tenn (20:06) Not a word of this to Riku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this chapter didn't put that much focus on Iori and Riku I felt that it was necessary, as Tenn is a serious hurdle they need to get over before their relationship advances! ;) I actually had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading and I really appreciate all your kudos and comments! <3


	11. Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fonte Chocolat has a new customer and Iori and Riku decides to take the next step ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is also an idea I've had since the very beginning of the story, and I, personally, is quiet happy with how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy it too!  
> If you want to reach me you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag.

As Iori entered his family’s bakery he heard the familiar sound of the doorbell going off. The shop was almost empty except for one customer that was standing by the cashier, talking to his brother. It was at this exact moment that Mitsuki noticed that Iori had returned. “Ah! Iori, you’re back! How was school?” He asked excitedly. 

“As usual, nothing special happened.” Was all Iori said as he walked up behind the cashier. As he did he managed to get a closer look at the customer that his brother had been talking to. He was, long, blond and clearly not Japanese, or at least not fully. The young man raised one of his eyebrows in question and asked in a slightly broken Japanese. “Mitsuki, who is this?” 

“Ah, that’s Iori, my younger brother!” 

“Oh? Even though he looks older than you?” At this Mitsuki let out a groan and lightly hit the other man on the shoulder, Iori just looked at him with a skeptical look on his face. “You know, Nii-san, you shouldn’t hit your customers.” 

“He deserved it!” 

“Mitsuki, you hurt my feelings!” 

“Shut up!” Iori couldn’t help but question this entire exchange, the young man was only a customer, right? Or was he a friend of his brother? 

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” He said and turned to look at the blond man standing in front of the cashier. 

“Oh, I am sorry! My name is Nagi Rokuya. I’m here to- “ 

“He’s an exchange student in some college nearby, he comes from some European country, can’t recall which.” Mitsuki interrupted. “He’s been coming here everyday for like a week now, even though he has never bought anything!” 

“That’s because this place reminds me of one of the bakeries back in my country, which by the way, is called Northmarea! I promise I will buy something sometime, but right now, I am dedicating my entire allowance to this!” The man, Nagi, said very passionately as he pulled out his phone. The two brothers looked at the screen which displayed a figurine. “My cute Kokona! Once I have it, I can buy something from here! Just wait for me!” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Mitsuki said and as Nagi was currently going on and on about this ‘Kokona’ Mitsuki had turned to face his brother. 

“So anyway, how are things going with that guy you were talking to?” 

“Nanase-san.” 

“Right, Nanase, how is it going?” Mitsuki looked at his brother with curiosity in his gaze. Iori would normally try and divert the attention onto something else, but once his brother had this certain look in his eyes, Iori knew that there was no way he was getting away. 

“It’s going fine I guess, I know what he looks like now.” 

“No way! You’ve met?” 

“No! I just saw his picture!” 

“Ah, I see. Was it any good?” 

“I guess so…” As he admitted this a blush covered his cheeks. Mitsuki just smirked knowingly at his brother. Iori was just about to turn around and head out of the store into their home, when he changed his mind and, once again, turned to face his older brother. “Nii-san, what if I wanted to meet him? But I’m not sure if he wants to?” 

“You want to meet up?” Mitsuki asked in return. 

“I think so… I mean, I do, sometime, I just don’t know if I’m ready, and he said before that he didn’t feel mentally prepared. N-not that I asked to meet up, I just misunderstood when he asked to see what I looked like. Anyway, I don’t know what to do…” 

As he listened to his brother’s ramble, Mitsuki couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time Iori had been seriously interested in something or someone. He just couldn’t help but feel happy for his baby brother. “You know, I think he would actually love to meet up, however you can’t force this kind of thing. But if you do want to grow closer, there are other ways to do it, you know.” 

Iori looked at his brother with a questioning look. “Like what?” 

“Have you tried talking to him before?” 

“That is literally what we do every day.” 

“No, I mean like, over the phone, as in have you ever called him? Or has he ever called you?” 

Iori froze, he hadn’t even considered that. Why hadn’t he considered that? Before he got the chance to think about this further, Mitsuki started talking again. “Your silence tells me that you haven’t. If you don’t feel ready to meet up in person yet, then why don’t you try a phone call? That way, at least you’ll get to hear his voice! It’s a good idea, no?” 

Iori still hadn’t really progressed his brother’s suggestion, but he nodded anyways, then turned around to head up to his room, leaving Mitsuki in the bakery with a still rambling Nagi. 

Iori (17:42) Nanase-san, I’ve been thinking about something. 

Riku (17:43) What’s up Iori? 

Iori (17:43) You know what? It’s nothing, forget it. 

Riku (17:43) Oh, come on! You can’t do that! Now I’m all curious!! 

Iori (17:44) It was just a stupid idea. 

Riku (17:44) I’m sure it wasn’t stupid! Please tell me? 

Iori (17:44) Please just drop it. 

Riku (17:45) You were the one who started it! Come on! 

Iori (17:45) Someone’s persistent. 

Riku (17:45) Pretty please??? 

Iori (17:46) Fine… 

Iori (17:46) I was wondering if maybe I could call you sometime… 

Iori (17:46) You know, so we could hear the other’s voice 

Iori (17:46) Unless you don’t feel comfortable with it! We really don’t have to! 

Iori (17:47) It’s just that you mentioned before how you didn’t feel ready to meet up in person, and, honestly, I don’t think I am either, but I sort of really wanted to know more about you and then Nii-san asked if we had ever had a phone call before, which we haven’t, and then I sort of wanted to hear your voice so I thought that maybe we could do one. 

Iori (17:48) A phone call, that is. 

Iori (17:48) If you want to. 

Riku (17:49) Oh, I completely forgot that we could do that… 

Iori (17:49) Really, it was a stupid idea, I shouldn’t have brought it up. Just forget about it! 

Riku (17:49) No! It’s fine! I uhm 

Riku (17:50) I think I would really like to talk to you… 

Riku (17:50) And to hear your voice. 

Iori (17:50) So I can? Call you? 

Riku (17:51) I guess so? 

Iori (17:51) Okay. 

Iori (17:51) I’m doing it. 

Riku didn’t know what he had been expecting when Iori texted hm, but it hadn’t been this. Although, he wasn’t really sure why he hadn’t thought of this earlier. But then he realized just what sort of state he was in at the moment. He was so nervous, maybe this had been why he hadn’t thought of it. He really didn’t want things to get awkward between them and hoped that this wouldn’t change anything. 

Riku almost fell of his bed when his phone started ringing. He locked down and saw that it was indeed Iori who was calling him. Taking a deep breath to hopefully calm down a tiny bit, he answered the phone. Silence, that was what he was met with, though to be honest, he didn’t really know what to say either. Deciding that this was just getting ridiculous Riku decided to just start with something simple. 

“Hello.” ‘Hello?’ was that the best he could come up with? Oh well, at least it was better than staying quiet. Soon after he heard a voice on the other end, answering with the exact same word. 

“Uhm… Hello. This is Nanase-san, right?” 

“And you’re Iori?” 

“Yes…” Well, this was awkward. Riku had absolutely no idea what to talk about. And from the silence on the other end it was probable that neither did Iori. 

“Right, uhm, sorry for suggesting this so suddenly, I-I just thought that, you know, it could be nice…” Iori said after a while. 

“I-it’s fine! Sorry for being so awkward! I’m just not really sure what to talk about…” 

“Yeah, me neither… Somehow this was a lot easier when it just involved texting.” 

“Hahaha, yeah… But I’m still glad we did this, you have a nice voice.” 

“Nanase-san! W-what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Nothing, nothing! I just thought it was kind of nice. It makes you sound like a kind person.” 

“How can you say stuff like that so easily? It’s the same with texting, I don’t get it…” 

“Maybe that’s just who I am!” 

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re the same.” 

“T-th-thank you!” 

“I uhm, I guess I kind of like your voice too?” 

“Haha, thank you, Iori!” 

“I should probably go now, before it gets all awkward again…” 

“Oh, sure…” 

“Well then, good by- “ 

“Wait!” 

“W-what?” 

“Can I call you again? I know it was super awkward this time, but I also thought it was nice! So, can we talk like this again sometime?” 

“Sure… I think I would like that too.” 

“Great! Okay, Bye Iori!” 

“Good bye, Nanase-san.” 

After a short while Riku heard the familiar sound signaling that the other was hanging up. It had been awkward, and sort of horrible, but he was still very happy. He had just talked to Iori and could not believe that he could feel this happy from a simple phone call. Not only was he really fun to talk to, he was also gorgeous and had a really nice, calming voice. For every little new thing Riku learned about Iori he just came to like him more and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally talked!! Even though they can talk about pretty much anything when texting at this point, I imagine that it's really hard for them not to get flustered during phone calls, but now that they've done that once, look forward to more of those in the future, apart from all the texting! ^^  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3


	12. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After everything that has happened, all Riku wanted was a quiet day at the bookstore, which ended up with him having a quiet serious talk with one of his customers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first of all, this chapter might also be a bit less exciting, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!  
> Also, I made some drawings of the selfies that the boys sent each other! You can find them linked in the end notes of chapter 9! I'm not that good at drawing though, and they were made in a bit of a rush, so they aren't all that good, but I thought I'd share them with you guys anyway.  
> You can find me either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag.  
> Without further ado, enjoy this chapter! ^^

It was an early Thursday afternoon, and the bookstore was completely empty, save for Riku. After everything that had happened recently, both with Iori and Tenn, a calm day at work was all Riku wanted. Something ordinary, that wouldn’t leave him all emotional afterwards. Thus, he was extremely grateful for the silence and the calming environment. 

There had only been two customers during the day so far and Riku had spent most of his time reorganizing the books that had somehow ended up in the wrong place. Just as he was about to put one of the books on the shelf to his right, the door opened, and he was startled by a loud “Hello!” which made him drop the book on the floor. 

After picking up the book and placing it on the shelf, Riku turned around to greet the new customers, whom he had immediately recognized because of the very specific greeting. “Nagi, Sougo-san! What brings you here today?” He said with a bright smile on his face. 

“I was looking for a new book, so I’m just going to have a look around for a bit.” Sougo answered, to which Nagi nodded in agreement. “Okay! Just let me know if you need help with anything!” Riku replied, after which he left Sougo to his own devices. 

After a few minutes of silence, however, Riku could feel something that made him shiver. He turned around and saw Nagi staring at him weirdly. Riku raised an eyebrow and walked over to the beautiful foreigner. “What’s up Nagi? You’ve been staring for a while… Is there something on my face?” 

Nagi just smiled and shook his head. “Don’t worry Riku! I was just observing you, you seem a bit different these days.” 

“Is that so? I don’t think anything has changed though…?” Riku was slightly confused as to what Nagi was talking about. 

“You seem happier, like there’s this aura around you… Did you perhaps fall in love?” Is what Nagi said to elaborate, after which he gave Riku a knowing smirk. At all of this, Riku could do nothing more than to erupt into a deep, crimson blush. 

“W-well, there might be someone I l-like, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you!” Is what he said as he sat down and hid his face in his hands. 

“Oh, but it does! You see, I care about you, and I want to see you happy! And love changes a person for the better! If you’ve found someone you truly love, I believe that you can’t find a better happiness! So, tell me, who is the happy woman that has captured your heart?” 

“That’s none of your business though!” Riku replied, quiet harshly, which made Nagi look down in disappointment. Feeling bad about it, Riku decided that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to share a little bit of information with the blond man. 

“Well, first of all, it’s actually not a girl.” Is how he started. Nagi immediately looked pleased again. “Oh? Well then, allow me to rephrase my previous question. Who is the lucky man that has captured your heart?” 

“He texted me a while back by mistake, and then we just sort of kept talking, and before I realized it, I was in way to deep to get out.” Riku sighed. “You know, he was just going to tell a customer that her order was ready, he works at a bakery you see, and then he accidentally reached me. I was feeling a bit lonely I guess, so I kept talking to him, and then I asked him if that was okay. After just a short while we became friends and we just keep getting closer and everything feels so right when I talk to him! But it’s reached this point where I don’t know what I can do to get closer to him! And even if I do, there’s no telling what he will think about it! What if he stops talking to me? I would hate that!” 

Nagi had been listening intently to Riku’s ramble, from time to time adding a nod or some small sound to show that he was still listening. After a while, when Riku became silent, Nagi decided it was his turn to speak. 

“Based solely on the way you’ve been talking about him, it sounds like you are both really important to each other. I’m sure things will work out in the end, I mean, who wouldn’t like you?! Besides, you look really happy because of this guy, it would be such a waste if it just died down.” 

“So, you’re saying I should just go for it?” Riku was very skeptical, Nagi may be beautiful, but was he really the person to go to for love advice? Well, it wasn’t like Riku had anyone else to go to, so with his limited options, Nagi was probably the best he could get. 

“I’m saying you should do what makes you happy, but you can’t force it, everything happens in due time.” Nagi smiled at Riku and at that moment, Riku felt truly glad that he had actually opened up about this. Nagi may seem like a weird, funny, good-looking otaku at times, but you couldn’t deny that he was truly kind and smart. 

“Thank you, Nagi. That actually makes me feel a lot better.” 

“I’m glad I could help!” Nagi said with a smile. Riku couldn’t help but smile back, Nagi was contagious like that. “Also, listening to your story, I couldn’t help but believe that it was fate that you and this man started talking.” 

Riku raised an eyebrow. “How so?” 

“You said he texted you by mistake when he was going to alert a customer that her order was ready, yes?” 

“Yeah?” 

“And you also said that you were feeling lonely, that that was part of the reason why you asked him to keep talking to you, right?” 

Riku was just becoming more and more confused by the second. “I guess I did, but I don’t get how this is fate though… What do you mean exactly?” 

Nagi chuckled and gave Riku a reassuring smile. “Well, it was almost as if you had ordered some company, and he came to deliver that to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was that! I had actually planned to include the "Did you order some company?" comment much earlier in the story, but I just couldn't find a way to get it in there while still sounding natural, and then, when writing this chapter I just felt like it fit! ^^  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you for reading, and I really appreciate all your kudos and comments! <3


	13. A bad feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku has an encounter with an odd old lady and Iori worries a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, enjoy!  
> If you want to find me you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag

Riku (13:01) Sometimes customers can be really weird. 

Iori (14:45) Sorry for the late reply, I was in class. 

Iori (14:45) But please, do tell. 

Riku (14:45) It’s fine! 

Riku (14:46) But the weird customer thing! So, I was organizing some books when this older woman entered the store and I asked her if I could help her with anything, as one would do. Customer service, you know. 

Iori (14:46) Right. 

Riku (14:47) However, she didn’t reply, she just kind of stared at me, and after a while she spat on the ground in front of me, told me I had the same hair color as her old, cheating husband, and that she would not be buying her books from a store which employed people who reminded her of her past? Like, who does that? 

Iori (14:48) Wow, that uhm, was not what I was expecting at all. 

Riku (14:48) That’s not all! About an hour later she came back, bought a book only to throw it at our window as soon as she got outside… 

Iori (14:49) Oh god, are you all right? Did the window break? You’re not hurt, right? 

Riku (14:49) I’m fine! I was just a bit startled is all. But yes, the window did break, so now we have to get a new one. 

Riku (14:50) Well, at least I got to go home early for today. ^^ 

Iori (14:51) Aren’t you lucky? 

Riku (14:51) Are you still in school? 

Iori (14:51) Yes, why? 

Riku (14:51) When does your next class start? 

Iori (14:52) In 8 minutes, why? 

Iori waited, yet there was no reply from Riku, granted that he had only waited for about one minute. When did he become such an impatient person? Luckily, he didn’t have to wait much longer as his screen soon lit up and displayed Riku’s name. Only this time it wasn’t a text message, it was a phone call. 

Iori panicked, he really shouldn’t pick up the call in the classroom, also, he would probably be a stammering mess since he had not been expecting this at all. However, he couldn’t not pick up, so he answered the call as he ran out of the classroom and into one of the empty toilet stalls. 

“Nanase-san! I’m in school right now! I can’t talk!” He tried to sound harsh and irritated, but that was surprisingly hard when you were flustered, yet happy and also trying really hard to keep your voice down. 

“I know, I know! I’m sorry. I just wanted to hear your voice…” Came from the other line of the phone. When Iori heard the tone in Riku’s voice his heart clenched. He sounded troubled, almost sad. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound too well…” 

“I’m fine! I’ll be fine. I just… You know, once we got over the whole ‘talking over the phone is super awkward’ thing, your voice started to really calm me down. After what happened today, I just needed to relax a bit. Sorry for using you like this, I’ll hang up in a minute!” 

That’s it, Iori lost it. Why did this person have to be so cute in every way possible? Even though Riku was extremely adorable right now, just as he always was, Iori couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt. He found that he didn’t like it when Riku wasn’t feeling well. Sighing, he decided that one short phone call probably wasn’t going to be getting him in any trouble. 

“As long as you hang up before my next class starts, its fine.” 

“Really? I don’t want to bother you though…” 

“Really, I like your calls.” 

“Thank you, Io-“ Suddenly, Riku was interrupted by a series of coughs which worried Iori slightly. 

“Nanase-san? Are you okay? It’s getting chillier outside, I hope you’re dressing warmly enough! You could have caught a cold.” 

“I-I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about it, I just… Uhm, choked on my ow spit… That’s all.” Iori was not convinced. Riku was acting weird. Sadly, he wasn’t given much time to contemplate this as his next class was about to start. 

“Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself! I need to go now, my next class is starting, but we can talk more later?” 

“Okay… I’d like that.” 

“Okay, I’ll text you when I get home from school then.” 

“Right. Bye Iori.” 

“Bye.” Iori ended the call and hurried back to his class. Even though he was there, he might as well not have been. He didn’t remember a single thing as his mind had been filled with completely other things. If things were going to continue like this, there might be problems with his studies… Riku really was getting to him, but he couldn’t help it. He just hoped that those coughs from earlier wasn’t something to worry about, yet, he couldn’t let that certain feeling of dread go. It was as if he felt that something just wasn’t right. 

Iori (17:32) Hey, I just got home. How are you feeling? 

Riku (17:38) I’m feeling much better now! Thanks for asking! 

Iori (17:38) Really? You didn’t sound too good back then… 

Riku (17:38) Really! I was just feeling a bit out of it after what happened at work today is all. You really don’t need to worry so much. 

Iori (17:39) Fine but tell me if there’s something I can help you with. 

Riku (17:39) Sure. ^^ 

Iori (17:39) Thank you. 

Riku (17:40) I should be thanking you! Thank you for caring so much! 

Iori (17:40) Of course I care… You should already know that I do. 

Riku (17:40) I do! I guess I’m still not that used to having people who aren’t family caring about me like that. It’s nice! 

Iori (17:41) Wow, you just made that sound really depressing. 

Riku (17:41) You’re right, I guess I did... Oh well, at least now I have you! ^^ 

Iori (17:42) Did you ever feel lonely before? 

Riku (17:42) What’s with this serious topic? 

Iori (17:42) Sorry, it’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. 

Riku (17:43) Don’t worry about it! I guess maybe I did, but only sometimes. I had my brother after all, we used to do everything together! 

Iori (17:43) Used to? As in past tense? 

Riku (17:44) Well, ever since he left for college we really don’t spend all that much time together, but that’s just because he isn’t home! We’re still just as close as we were before! 

Riku (17:44) I guess me being lonely just became more apparent since he left… 

Iori (17:45) Do you still feel lonely? 

Riku (17:45) Nope! Because now I have Iori to talk to! ^^ 

Iori (17:46) If that’s the case, then I’m glad… 

Iori (17:46) I’ll talk to you, I’ll be here for you, so that you won’t be lonely anymore. 

Riku (17:47) Haha, now Iori is the one saying embarrassing things! 

Iori (17:47) Shut up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter took a more serious turn than I had planned, but I've noticed that I usually end up changing something every chapter, which makes it quiet interesting, since not even I'm sure exactly how I'll make the story play out until I've actually written it! Anyway, I hope you liked this, thank you for leaving kudos and comments, they are very appreciated! <3


	14. Chance meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iori is way too tired for his own good, and Riku thinks through some important matters on his way back from the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm done with the next chapter! I'm actually really happy with how this chapter turned out as this was another one of those scenes that I had planned out from the very early stages of this fanfic. So without further ado, enjoy this chapter!  
> If you want to find me on any social media, you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag.

Something strange has happened, something very strange indeed. At least, that’s what Tamaki was trying to convince Iori ever since he caught the black-haired teen almost falling asleep in today’s class. Iori didn’t blame him, according to most people he was a very diligent and serious student, a title which he wouldn’t deny himself, he thought it fitted his image perfectly. Which is why Tamaki was so taken aback when he saw his friend in his current state. 

So why had he almost fallen asleep? In the middle of the classroom, no less. There was a very simple answer to this question. It was all because of Riku Nanase. Last night they had ended up talking over the phone until 3 AM, which really didn’t come as a surprise to Iori, it wasn’t the first time it had happened after all. However, not being able to fall asleep afterwards was new. From time to time it had taken him a while to fall asleep, as he was still a bit worked up after talking to his crush, but last night was different. It didn’t only take him a while to fall asleep, he wasn’t able to do so at all. 

Iori could be a romantic and say that it was because he’d been to distracted thinking about all the good things that were Riku Nanase, which technically wasn’t completely wrong, that was what he had done. But, he had only done it to distract himself from the feeling of doubt that had been growing in his mind for a couple of days now. Iori didn’t know exactly for how long he’d been feeling like this, he just had this feeling that something wasn’t right. And he also had an inkling that he felt this way because of Riku. Was he perhaps hiding something from him? 

This is what had kept him up all night, which caused him to almost fall asleep in class today. Though to be fair, out of all the reasons he could have been so tired, Riku was not a bad option. Still, he really needed to get a grip. 

“Iorin, are you sure you’re okay?” Hearing Tamaki addressing him brought Iori back to reality. He was currently sitting at his desk, notes still piled all over it, however, the classroom was empty apart from Iori himself and his tall, blue-haired friend. Said friend was alternating between looking at the clock and looking down at Iori with a worried gaze. 

“I’m perfectly fine, just caught up in some thoughts. Don’t worry about it.” Iori replied, after which he looked around the classroom. “Did everyone leave already?” 

“Yeah, you know, our last class ended 15 minutes ago, you’ve sort of just been staring at nothing in particular, it looked kind of creepy…” Iori blushed and quickly put his notebooks into his bag, then he stood up and made a motion for Tamaki to follow him out the door. 

“I see, I’m terribly sorry. Did you wait for me?” Tamaki nodded in answer. “Thank you.” Iori said as the pair walked through the almost empty corridors toward the entranceway. 

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Iorin? You know you can tell me about your problems, right? I always come to you with my problems after all. Since you give good advice.” 

“I’m sure, there is no problem to address in the first place, I just didn’t sleep so well last night is all. I’ll catch up on some sleep tonight and everything will be back to normal.” Iori really wanted to drop this subject already, Tamaki was supposed to be dense, he shouldn’t be able to see through him so easily, although, he probably had been a bit more open with his emotions ever since he started talking to Riku. That boy had a strange effect on him. 

“Really? You’re really sure?” Iori sighed, while he really appreciated that Tamaki was worried about him, he desperately just wanted to go home, fall asleep and forget that this day had ever even happened in the first place. And maybe possibly talk to Riku in the privacy of his room where he didn’t have to worry about people trying to steal glances at his phone every other minute. People, in this case, being Tamaki and Mitsuki. 

“Yotsuba-san, I’ll buy you five King Puddings on the way to the train station if you stop pestering me about this.” Iori really was desperate enough to use bribery at this point, and, knowing Tamaki, Iori knew that he would never say no to King Pudding. He was right, of course. The moment King Pudding was mentioned Tamaki’s expression changed from one of worry to one of excitement. 

“You will?! Yay!! Iorin, you’re the best!” 

And so, the two boys kept walking toward the train station, only making one stop on the way to get Tamaki his precious King Pudding. 

As Riku exited the hospital he let out a sigh. Everyone was totally overreacting! Sure, he had been a bit shaken up by what had happened the other day in the bookstore, and it might have taken a toll on his body, but he really didn’t think it was so bad that he had to go to the hospital. 

Although, it was steadily getting colder outside as it was currently the beginning of October. The cold weather combined with all his worrisome thoughts about his budding relationship with Iori and then the shock from the glass-breaking incident really wasn’t that good of a combination, and he couldn’t deny that he had been feeling a bit under the weather as of recently. He just hoped that he wouldn’t end up with a cold on top of everything else. If he did, he might have to go to the hospital again soon, although he had a feeling that when that time comes, it probably wouldn’t be just a simple check-up. 

He didn’t like being at the hospital, not at all. It was so gloomy and filled with bad memories. It was even worse now that Tenn wasn’t around as much to visit him, like he always did before he left for college. Ever since he left, he felt even more alone in the hospital than anywhere else. He couldn’t help but wonder though, if maybe Iori would come visit him. Then he probably wouldn’t feel nearly as lonely. Although he decided against it, at least for now, as he didn’t want to spoil their first meeting by having it take place in a hospital room. 

Thinking about this brought another issue to his mind. Should he tell Iori about his illness? They had known each other for quiet a long time now, and he was fairly certain that Iori wouldn’t start treating him any differently if he knew he had asthma. The only thing that might change would probably be that he might get a few more worried texts, or reminders to take care of himself. Like what Tenn usually texted him. Honestly though, he wouldn’t mind it that much. 

He wanted to be open to Iori, he wanted him to know who he really was, and to do that, he needed to tell him about his illness. Something that was such a big part of his life probably couldn’t go unmentioned if they ever decided to meet up. But then again, Riku really didn’t want to trouble Iori with his own problems. He probably had stuff to deal with of his own, without Riku adding troubles to his life. 

Sighing, he decided that it was probably best to keep it to himself, at least for now. He knew that he needed to tell Iori, but he decided to wait for a bit. To him, it was a big step to take. He wouldn’t just tell anyone about it. It was personal. It was important. Which was why he would tell Iori. Just not quite yet. It also didn't feel right to tell Iori something so important over the phone, maybe Riku could bring it up when they met? But then again, he didn't want their first meeting to be about something so serious. He should probably wait, maybe until the second or third time they met? Wow, now he was really thinking far ahead. Riku sighed again and decided to stop thinking about it for now. 

Looking up ahead, Riku saw the train station he needed to go to in order to get home, but he also saw something else. A bakery. It felt very homely, something like what Riku had imagined Iori’s bakery would look like. Now, this obviously wasn’t Iori’s bakery, since the name was totally different, but Riku still felt a sudden craving for something sweet, so he entered the shop and inhaled the sweet scent of baked goods. 

In the end, he bought a strawberry cupcake, which looked and smelled absolutely delicious. He sat himself down on a bench outside and quietly ate it, savoring every last bite. Was this what the pastries were like at Fonte Chocolat? Riku couldn’t help but wonder. He also made a mental note to himself to remember to visit Iori’s bakery sometime in the future. Maybe he could surprise Iori? Although, knowing Iori, that might not be the best idea, as he would most likely end up a stuttering mess. Thinking about it made Riku chuckle. 

Having finished his cupcake, Riku threw the wrapping in the bin to his right and walked toward the train station. His train was leaving in five minutes, so he picked up his speed and soon he was standing aboard the train that would leave any second now. Taking some deep breaths to relax he looked up and out of the train’s window. What he saw next made him freeze, his jaw dropped, and he almost thought he was dreaming. 

Out there, on the platform was a young man with pale skin, black hair and blue-grayish eyes dressed in a school uniform. At first, Riku thought he was just imagining things but the more he looked, the less he was able to deny it. On the other side of the window, just a few meters away, stood Iori. The boy he had been talking to on the phone for a little over two months now was literally standing a few meters away. Riku could just get of the train, and there he would be. However, something kept him from going. He stood still on the spot, it felt as if he was unable move, and the next thing he knew, the train started moving. But, just as it did, something happened. 

Having said goodbye to Tamaki in front of the train station Iori looked at the clock and walked inside, there was still about 15 minutes left until his train left, so he still had enough time to just take it easy. He walked onto the platform and waited. He took up his phone to check if he had any new messages. He did not. Iori didn’t know if this made him feel disappointed or relieved. 

As he heard the sound that signaled that the train was leaving the station he looked up. And he froze. He rubbed at his eyes, thinking that his tired mind was just playing some cruel trick on him. But no. His eyes suddenly met crimson ones and he was gone. That was Riku. Riku was standing on the train that just left the station. They had literally just been a few meters away from each other. Because that had to have been Riku, right? 

Their eyes had met, however, it only lasted for a few seconds as the train left the station at an accelerating speed. And soon, it was gone from sight. Iori was convinced that the person he saw was Riku, but did Riku realize? Their eyes had met, and there was something between them, which made him think that he certainly had recognized him. 

Iori quickly picked up his phone to verify that what had just happened really was what he thought it was. 

Iori (17:11) Was that you just now? 

Riku (17:11) Was that you on the platform just now? 

Their messages came in almost exactly at the same time and Iori had to crouch down on the ground. He had just been a few meters away from one of the people that meant the most to him. He had just seen him in person for the first time. Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but blush. He felt his phone vibrate in his hand and looked at the screen. 

Riku (17:12) You look way more handsome in real life, that picture you sent really didn’t do you justice… 

Iori couldn’t handle it anymore. Riku Nanase was going to be the death of him. Taking a deep breath, he sent his reply. 

Iori (17:13) You too. You look way cuter in real life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they finally meet! Sort of at least... So, this was their first sort of meeting and I was really excited about this chapter. They are just such dorks who care way to much about each other. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as well! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated! ^^


	15. Charging ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Riku and Iori consult their brothers about what happened, and then they decide on what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back with another chapter! As you may have noticed, I have now added the number of chapters this fic will get, 19. I already have the last four chapters planned out, and will probably be able to upload one chapter everyday, like I have done so far. BUT! Don't be sad that it's over! Because that's just where the main story will be ending. I still plan on adding chapters to this story, one shots that take place after the end of this story! I already have a few of them planned out, like them going on a date and Iori meeting Tenn for the first time. So just because I'll soon reach chapter 19, it doesn't mean the end for this fanfic. I hope you will be happy with how this turns out! I must also say that I probably won't be able to upload those one shots as often as I have been doing these chapters, since I will start university next week! ^^  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you have any questions or just want to talk you can cotact me either via Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or via Twitter: @EFagerhag

Riku was still in a bit of a shock after what had happened yesterday. Meeting Iori was something he had not expected at all. They hadn’t really talked about it all that much since they confirmed that they had, in fact, seen each other. Riku felt too awkward to do so. For the first time, he had absolutely no idea what to write to Iori. He could just assume that Iori felt the same way, thus the lack of messages from him as well. 

Still, Riku felt like he needed to talk to someone about what had happened, so he looked at the clock. It probably wasn’t too early to call his brother, and his first class probably hadn’t started yet, so without a second thought, Riku picked up his phone and dialed Tenn’s number. This could also be a great chance to let his brother know that Iori wasn’t a creepy old man trying to catfish him. It took a while, but after the forth signal Tenn picked up. 

“Riku, what’s up? It’s so early, why are you calling me now?” 

“Good morning, Tenn-nii! I didn’t wake you up, did I? If I did I’m so sorry, I really thought you’d be up by now.” 

“Well, you didn’t wake me up, but it’s still early.” 

“Yeah, I know. Do you have time to talk now? Or should I call you back later?” 

“No, now is fine I guess. But I need to go in like 20 minutes.” 

“Got it! That’s great actually, because I really wanted to talk to you about something. I was going to call you yesterday, but I guess I still had a lot on my mind at the time…” 

“Does this have to do with what happened the other day? In the bookstore? Because if you’re not feeling well you need to-“ 

“I know! I know! It’s not that! Well, it’s not completely irrelevant I guess, but it barely has anything to do with it!” 

“…Okay, fine. What is it?” 

“So, you know Iori? The guy I’ve been texting with since this summer?” 

“Yes, I know him, what’s with him? Did something happen? Did he do something to you?!” 

“Oh my god, relax! He didn’t do anything bad! Why do you have to assume that everyone around me are bad until proven otherwise? Is it that hard to trust people?” 

“Look, can we not talk about this right now? You were going to tell me something about this Iori guy, right? So, what is it?” 

“Right, that. We, uhm, sort of met yesterday.” 

“…You did what now?” 

“So, you know, I just thought I should tell you properly that he’s not a creepy old man like you were suggesting, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore! Isn’t that great?” 

“Great? Riku what the hell? You promised that you would tell me when and where you were meeting up! Do our promises mean that little to you? What if something had happened?! Oh god, why do you have to be so reckless all the time?!” 

“Can you just stop for a moment? Okay, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I couldn’t have even if I wanted to! I didn’t plan to meet him, it was by chance! Besides, we didn’t really meet, we just kind of saw each other through a window…” 

“Wait a minute, can you explain? What exactly happened yesterday? I’m really confused right now.” 

“Okay, so, I had been at the hospital for a check-up, you know, because of what happened in the bookstore. And after I boarded the train home, I saw him standing out on the platform. And he looked up, our eyes met, and that was it.” 

“What do you mean that was it?” 

“Well, after that the train left the station. So, we never really had a chance to walk up to each other and so on. And before you ask, yes, I am certain that the person I saw was Iori, we confirmed it via text yesterday.” 

“Okay, I get what happened, and I guess it’s, uhm, good that he’s not an old man. Look, I’m sorry for yelling before, but it’s just… You really need to be careful about stuff like this! Even if you have seen him now, that promise of telling me when and where you will meet is still on.” 

“Yeah, about that…” 

“What? Riku what have you done?” 

“I haven’t done anything! Yet.” 

“Yet? Why do you say yet?” 

“Because, I’ve been thinking, and I think I want to meet up with him. Properly. Not just accidentally like we did the other day.” 

“Oh. When? Where? How? Give me the details, I’ll make sure I’m free.” 

“Tenn-nii… I haven’t actually asked him to meet me yet, you know.” 

“Then tell me when you know! Actually, I’ll text you my schedule later today so that you can match up your meeting with my schedule, and-“ 

“Oh my god, I am not going to decide when to meet him based on when you are free! I just wanted to let you know what I plan to do because you’re my brother and I love you, but I need you to trust me on this. Please. I really, really like him, Tenn-nii. I didn’t know I could like another person like this, and I don’t want to ruin it. So please, just trust me on this.” 

“…Riku, I… I guess, I’ll just stay here. Look, I’m sorry for always butting in, I just don’t want anything to happen to you, what with your health and all. I hate to see you get hurt, and you've already been through a lot...” 

“I know, and I really appreciate that!” 

“…I’m glad that you have someone you like that much. But you do have to promise to let me meet him too, sometime!” 

“Okay! I promise.” 

“Great.” 

“Thank you, Tenn-nii.” 

“It was nothing… Look, Riku, thank you for telling me all of this, but I really need to go now. Let me know how it goes later?” 

“Of course! Bye, Tenn-nii!” 

“Bye, love you.” 

And with that the phone call ended. Riku had made his choice. He would ask Iori to meet him. 

It was a Saturday, thus there was no school, and for the first time in years, Iori had woken up after 10 AM. Once he was awake and had gotten dressed, he slowly made his way downstairs into the kitchen, only to be met with two questioning faces. “Morning Iori, it’s rare for you to sleep in this long, everything okay?” Mitsuki asked as Iori sat down. 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He answered before he turned to great the person sitting across the table. “Good morning, Nikaido-san, what are you doing here?” Yamato Nikaido, Mitsuki’s best friend, just chuckled and ruffled Iori’s hair. “Just here to see Mitsu, as usual.” 

“More like you're here bother me, seriously, you could at least let me know before you come over, what would you do if I wasn’t home?” This made the older man laugh out loud, once he had calmed down he started talking again. “You know, maybe I would actually let you know if you would start leaving this place already. Seriously, you can’t leave your precious bakery alone.” 

Mitsuki sighed and put two cups down on the table, one for Iori and one for Yamato. “You know, technically, it’s not even my bakery, it’s my parents’.” 

“I know, I know. More importantly though,” Yamato said and turned toward Iori. “I heard Ichi’s got a little crush.” Yamato smirked knowingly and Iori just turned into a blushing, stuttering mess. “N-nii-san! Did you tell him?!” 

“What? You never said I couldn’t tell people…” Mitsuki just looked at him innocently, but behind that innocence he was very, very pleased with himself. “Oh my god, did you tell anyone else?! What about mom and dad?” Iori asked. “Don’t worry, I haven't told anyone else. Besides, when you introduce Riku to our parents as your future husband, I'll leave you to explain how you two met.” Was his reply. 

Iori's entire face turned scarlet. "N-nii-san! W-wh-what are you even saying?!" He stuttered out to which Mitsuki and Yamato simply laughed. Having calmed himself down, Iori let out a sigh, however, as the laughter died down he could feel the gazes of the two older men in the room on him. “What?” He questioned. “Well…” Started Mitsuki. He was soon followed by Yamato. “How’s it going? Are you making any progress?” 

Iori had been debating whether to tell his brother about their almost-meeting yesterday, now was a good chance, even if it meant Yamato hearing about it as well. “Well, I guess something kind of happened yesterday…” He said. Mitsuki immediately reacted, he grabbed Iori’s hand and said, “Go on! What happened?” 

Seeing how excited the two across the table looked, Iori wondered if he really had made the right decision in telling them. Oh well, it was too late to stop now. “We, uhm, sort of met? Not really though, I mean I saw him, and he saw me, but we didn’t actually talk or anything.” 

“Wait, you saw him? And you didn’t talk to him? Iori, you’ve been crushing on this guy for weeks! I know you wanted to meet him, so why didn’t you two talk?” Mitsuki was quiet taken aback by what Iori had just told him, he just needed to know more. 

Feeling his brother’s gaze, Iori sighed and continued with his explanation. “Okay, so yesterday on my way back from school I was stood at the platform, waiting for my train, when I saw him, inside of another train, but before we could really do anything about it, the train left the station.” 

“Oh, I see, so that’s what happened. That’s why you’ve been so quiet since yesterday?” Mitsuki asked and Iori nodded. After this it was Yamato’s turn to speak up. “You know, Ichi, you could have gone full shoujo manga on him and followed the train. I bet he’d think that would be romantic!” 

“There’s just one flaw in your logic, Nikaido-san. While I may know which train he took to, presumably, get home, I don’t know on which station he left the train.” Iori responded. All he got was a chuckle and a small noise of acknowledgement from his brother’s friend. 

“Okay, let’s just forget Yamato’s idea, but what are you going to do now? Like, did something else happen after you saw each other on the station?” Mitsuki asked him. 

“Not really, I mean, we confirmed that we had in fact seen each other, but after I got home, I just sort of fell asleep, so I haven’t talked to him since. He hasn’t messaged me either.” As he said this, a sudden realization hit Iori. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore? I mean, it wasn’t that long ago he said he wasn’t ready to meet up yet, what if he-“ 

“Wait, wait, wait! Calm down Iori!” Mitsuki interrupted him. “You probably don’t have anything to worry about, I mean, you were quite shocked, right? He probably just needs some time to think is all.” Iori nodded and tried his best to calm himself down. He then looked up at his brother. 

“I just… I really like him. A lot. And I don’t want to mess this up and loose him.” 

“I’m sure you won’t, you’re a really sweet kid after all! Even though you’re not always that good at showing it. I feel like this guy has seen through your façade, and he still talks to you, right? I’m sure he feels the same way you do.” Wow, Mitsuki really did have a way with words, at least when it came to cheering up his baby brother. Iori smiled and thanked him before continuing. 

“If I told him that I wanted to meet him, do you think he would agree? Because I really want to meet him. I mean, it would probably be really awkward, but I feel like if we don’t move forward soon, we might never do it…” 

“Then ask him. If you’re sure that this is what you want, then I think you should just go for it. The worst thing that could happen would be a ‘No’, right?” Mitsuki said, however, before Iori was able to respond to his brother he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He picked it up, only to see that he had a new message from Riku. 

As he unlocked his phone he could see both his brother and Yamato move behind him to look at the screen. So, in order to get a bit more privacy, he moved upstairs to his bedroom. 

Riku (10:47) Hey Iori, I’m sorry for not contacting you earlier, but I’ve been thinking. 

Riku (10:47) Do you want to meet up? Like, we could go out to eat? Or we could go to something like a museum or an aquarium? Or just hang out? Or something… 

Riku (10:47) If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine! 

Riku (10:48) And I just realized how much those suggestions sounded like dates… I’m sorry! 

Iori (10:49) It’s fine, don’t worry about it. 

Iori (10:49) And I would love to. 

Iori (10:50) Meet up with you, that is. 

Riku (10:50) Great! Uhm, I can’t tomorrow, but sometime next week perhaps? 

Iori (10:50) That sounds good. I get out of school early on Tuesday because of some big teachers’ conference, we could do something then? 

Riku (10:51) Tuesday afternoon? That works for me! 

Iori (10:51) Great! I guess I’ll text you more exact times later? I need to do some stuff right now, but we could also decide what to do later. 

Riku (10:51) Yeah, sounds great! 

Iori (10:51) Yes. 

Iori (10:52) Well, bye. 

Riku (10:52) Talk to you later! ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaahh! They are finally meeting up!! Are you as excited as I am?  
> Thank you for reading, and I really hope you liked this chapter!  
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated! <3


	16. Their first meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for their first meeting and both boys are really excited, yet also very nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time! Are you excited? I sure am! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> If you want to find me on any social media you can do so at Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag

Iori (16:21) Nanase-san, I checked the times and it seems like I’ll be able to be out of school by 14:00, after that I’ll go home to change, so maybe we could meet around 15:30? 

Iori (16:21) Does that sound good? 

Riku (16:22) That sounds perfect! I’m currently off work so I can anytime! ^^ 

Riku (16:22) Where are we supposed to meet though? 

Iori (16:22) How about the train station? We could meet at the same one where we saw each other before. 

Iori (16:22) Is that okay? 

Riku (16:23) Yep! That’ll be great! 

Riku (16:23) So, 15:30 at the same train station where we saw each other before! 

Iori (16:23) Yes, that sounds about right. 

Riku (16:24) I’m so excited!!! Although very nervous too! 

Iori (16:24) Yes, it will most likely be very different from simply talking via texts and the occasional phone call, like what we have been doing so far. 

Iori (16:24) But I am also looking forward to it… 

Riku (16:24) Really?! 

Iori (16:25) Of course I am! Do you doubt me? 

Riku (16:25) Nope! It’s just a bit hard to believe that this is really happening… 

Riku (16:25) It feels kind of surreal… don’t you think so too? 

Iori (16:26) It certainly does. 

Iori (16:26) I apologize beforehand if I get really awkward at the time. 

Iori (16:26) I’m not really the best at keeping conversations going… 

Riku (16:27) It’s fine! I’ll probably be awkward too, though I feel like that’s a given! 

Riku (16:27) Since it’s the first time we meet and all. 

Iori (16:27) Yes, you are probably right. 

Riku (16:28) I’m sure it will be fine though! 

Riku (16:28) I mean, the phone calls were SUPER awkward at first, but now we can have quiet long ones without any awkward silences! 

Riku (16:29) So I’m sure we can manage somehow! ^^ 

Iori (16:29) Yes, it will work out. Somehow. 

Riku (17:38) Tomorrow is the big day! 

Riku (17:38) I’m getting really excited! I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight… 

Iori (17:38) We’re just meeting up, don’t expect too great things… 

Riku (17:39) Oh, don’t say that! I’m sure it’ll be great! 

Riku (17:39) Because you’re amazing! 

Riku (17:40) I mean, you’re very nice and smart and, you know, just generally amazing… 

Riku (17:40) That was a lot more embarrassing than I thought it would be. 

Iori (17:41) Thank you… You’re amazing too. 

Iori (17:41) I mean, I think you’re really amazing… 

Riku (17:41) Thank you Iori! ^^ 

Riku (17:42) By the way, what are we going to do tomorrow? Do you wanna go somewhere? Should we eat something? Or should we just kind of hang out? 

Iori (17:42) It doesn’t really matter. I’m up for anything. 

Riku (17:43) Well, is there anything in particular that you want to do? 

Iori (17:43) I literally just said that anything was fine. 

Riku (17:43) I know! I just thought that since I didn’t really have a preference, I’d let you choose! ^^ 

Iori (17:44) Then… do you want to go to a cat café? 

Riku (17:44) Ah… I’m not really good with animals… 

Riku (17:44) It’s the fur. 

Riku (17:44) Sorry… 

Iori (17:45) It’s fine! Really! Are you allergic? 

Riku (17:45) Sort of... I mean, we could go to a cat café some other time! I’ll be fine if I wear a mask and don’t touch the animals. 

Iori (17:46) We really don’t need to! Let’s just do something else. 

Iori (17:46) How about we just walk around and see if we find something to do? I mean, we don’t have to decide now. And then we could get dinner together afterwards? 

Riku (17:47) That sounds nice! We’ll just see what we feel up to tomorrow! 

Iori (17:47) Yes, then let’s decide that. 

Riku (17:47) Yes! ^^ 

Iori (07:11) Good morning Nanase-san. 

Iori (07:11) I’m sorry if I woke you up, I just wanted to make sure that we are still on for today? 

Riku (07:16) Yes! Of course we are! 

Riku (07:16) And you didn’t wake me up, so it’s fine! ^^ 

Iori (07:17) You didn’t stay up all night, did you? 

Iori (07:17) Since you said you wouldn’t be able to sleep… 

Riku (07:17) Don’t worry! I slept! 

Riku (07:18) A little… 

Iori (07:18) Nanase-san! What will you do if you’re tired later today? Sleep is important, you know? 

Riku (07:18) I know! Don’t worry, I did sleep, so it’s all good! ^^ 

Iori (07:19) If you say so… 

Riku (07:19) I do say so. Now, have a good day at school! 

Iori (07:20) What are you, my mother sending me off? 

Riku (07:20) Hahaha ^^ 

Iori (13:52) I’m leaving the school now, so I’ll just have to go home, get changed, and then I’ll be on my way. 

Riku (13:55) Great! I’m ready to go anytime! 

Riku (13:56) I’m getting really nervous though… 

Iori (13:56) That’s fine. You’re not the only one. 

Riku (13:57) Haha, it’s good to know that you feel the same way I do! ^^ 

Iori (13:57) I’m just glad that made you feel better. 

Riku (13:57) Yep! ^^ Thank you Iori, you’re the best! 

Iori (13:58) Again with the compliments… 

Riku (13:58) Do you mind it? 

Iori (13:58) No, it’s fine. I guess I’m just not used to those really heartfelt ones. 

Iori (13:59) Anyway, will you let me know when you leave for our meeting? 

Riku (13:59) Yep! So, I’ll talk to you soon! 

Riku (15:03) I’m leaving now! There’s a train that leaves the station near where live in 7 minutes that I think I’ll be able to catch! 

Iori (15:04) That’s sounds good. I’m already on the train so I’ll be at the station in about 15 minutes. 

Riku (15:04) Then you’ll have to wait for a bit! My train should be there by 15:30, if there aren’t any delays that is… 

Iori (15:04) Yes, those are quite common, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if that was the case… 

Iori (15:05) Anyway, see you soon. 

Riku (15:05) yeah, see you! 

Iori sighed, even though he tried his best to remain calm, that was very hard to do considering he was on his way to meet his crush. He knew that technically they had seen each other before, but he liked to think of this as their first official meeting. And it made him feel all sorts of weird things he wasn’t used to. He was happy, yet also anxious. He couldn’t help but worry that something would go wrong, but that was most probably just his own pessimistic mind. 

The train arrived at the station way too early for Iori’s liking, as a part of him just wanted to ride the same train home, that way, he could stop feeling so nervous. He didn’t like not being able to control his own body and emotions, yet, everything that had to do with Riku seemed to make him experience exactly what he didn’t enjoy. And yet he was addicted to it. He didn’t understand it, but it really was like some invisible force was pulling him along for the ride. Riku Nanase had changed his entire world, and Iori really couldn’t complain about it. 

Stepping out of the train, he walked over to one of the big billboards along the wall. There was a bench there, so he sat down on it, picked up his phone, in case Riku tried to reach him about any possible delays, and started waiting. He really hadn’t thought the wait would be this bad, but then again, things were never really what he thought they were when it came to Riku. And so, with his heart beating faster than it ever had and his palms starting to sweat, he waited for Riku to arrive. 

This was bad. This wasn’t just bad, this was horrible. Riku knew that his condition hadn’t been the best recently, what with the glass-breaking incident, the stress of everything in his personal life, the temperature constantly sinking, and now a cold. Thinking about it, he should probably have told Iori he was sick or something, and then postpone their meet-up. But he really didn’t want to do that. He had been looking forward to this for so long, he would feel so bad if he canceled it now. Although Tenn would most certainly scold him for being reckless and stubborn. Also, for not caring about his own health as much as he should. 

The closer he got to the train station, the better he felt, at least mentally. However, with every step he took, it got harder and harder to breath properly. Looking at the clock, he saw that there were still 4 minutes left until the train left, and he was right outside of the station. So, he sat down on the ground for a while to try and catch his breath. So far, it wasn’t working very well. His chest ached, his mouth felt dry and he was starting to feel a bit dizzy, probably due to lack of oxygen. 

People were looking at him, and it wasn’t long before an elderly old woman walked up to him, asking if he was okay. He tried to assure her that there was nothing to worry about, but he was interrupted by an impromptu coughing fit. If he hadn’t attracted enough attention before, he certainly had now. At least a dozen people were crowding around him, all with concerned expressions on their faces. Although, to be fair, he really couldn’t blame them, considering the state he was currently in. And it wasn’t getting better. 

Why did his asthma always have to get in the way? It had been there to put a damper on things for as long as he could remember. It was never what he could or should do, it had always been about what he couldn’t and shouldn’t do. He was not about to let it ruin things with Iori either. He looked at the clock and realized that he would have to run if he wanted to catch the train. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to, considering his current state. But once he got on the train, he would have about 20 minutes to calm down. And in the worst case, he would have to wait for the next train, which would just give him more time to get his condition under control. 

Riku took a few deep breaths, or at least as deep as he could while still coughing his lungs up. Then he stood up, with the help from the people around him, and at last he started walking. He didn’t get very far, however. After a few steps, everything went black around him and in the back of his mind he could hear people screaming and feel his body colliding with something hard. He must have fallen over. The last thing Riku remembers is thinking that he really should have called Iori, to tell him about what had happened. 

Iori waited and waited. He was pretty sure that he had seen at least five trains arrive who had departed from Riku’s direction. He looked at the clock, 16:48. Riku was very late. Next, he checked his phone, once, twice, thrice, but there were still no messages, no missed calls. Had something happened? Riku wouldn’t just ditch him like this, right? One part of his mind was yelling at him that he’s been really stupid, that maybe Riku had just been joking around. But that idea was shot down immediately, Riku wasn’t that kind of person. His thoughts didn’t get any better after that, he started running through all the different scenarios he could think of, but none made him feel better. He had texted him at least 20 times and called him at least 10. As the clock hit 19:30 Iori boarded the train that would take him home. He’d just have to try and contact Riku again later, he just hoped that he was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry!! >.< I didn't want to make them suffer, but this is part of another idea I've had since this fic was in it's early stages, and I feel like it's a necessary step. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	17. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku wakes up in the hospital and realizes he has a lot to explain to Iori.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The next chaoter! Only two more to go, then the main story is finished! It's a bit sad to see this story come to an end, but I'm really glad with how it has turned out! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> If you want to reach me you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag

Slowly but surely, Riku opened his eyes. His mind was still a bit hazy and he couldn’t quite remember what had happened or where he was. Looking around the room he quickly took in his surroundings and deducted that he was in a hospital room. To the left of the bed he currently occupied there was a person, though his mind was still a bit too tired to properly process just who it was. That was, until said person spoke. 

“Riku? Riku are you awake?” Riku could never mistake that voice. It was his brother. He blinked a couple of times then looked up at Tenn, he was going to respond but no sound came out, only coughs which caused his chest to ache slightly. Tenn immediately grabbed Riku and tried to calm him down while at the same time calling for a doctor or nurse. 

After a while, everything had calmed down and Riku had managed to sit upright in the bed. He looked at his brother. “Tenn-nii… What happened?” 

Tenn looked at his brother with sympathetic eyes. “You had an attack and collapsed in the middle of the street, an old lady called an ambulance and came with you here to the hospital. She gave us her number so make sure you call and properly thank her once you feel better.” Riku listened to his brother’s explanation, although, he felt as if some important part of it all was missing, like there was something he was forgetting. “How long have I been out?” 

“A day, it’s Wednesday evening now. The doctors said that the attack was most likely caused by the stress from the incident at your work the other day combined with the cold you so conveniently forgot to tell anyone about.” 

“I’m sorry… I really hadn’t noticed how bad it had gotten.” Riku looked down dejectedly, he really didn’t want to worry anyone, so why hadn’t he told anyone about the cold? His memory was still a bit hazy, however, when he looked at his phone that lay on the bedside table he suddenly recalled what had happened. “Oh shit!” 

Tenn looked startled at Riku. “What? Is there something wrong? Should I call a doctor?” 

“No! It’s not that! Oh my god, I screwed up, Tenn-nii! I really screwed up!” 

“What happened? You can tell me, you know.” 

“It’s Iori!” 

“Iori? The guy you’ve been talking to? Did he do something? Or did he say something that hurt you? Is that why you had the attack?!” 

“What? No! I was supposed to meet him! That’s why I didn’t tell anyone about my cold, you would have stopped me! Which, in hindsight, I realize was really stupid, because I should have just postponed our meeting, but I didn’t.” 

“Wait. That’s the reason?! Riku, what were you thi-“ 

“I’m really sorry, Tenn-nii! But please, can the lecture wait? I’ve got call him!” 

“What? Why? What you need now is rest, not some guy that might just add to your stress!” 

“But he doesn’t know what happened! He must think I ditched him or something! I never told him I wasn’t feeling well, so he was waiting for me to arrive! He must hate me now… I need to tell him what happened, please! I really don’t want to lose him…” 

Tenn sighed. Why did he always let Riku have what he wanted? Seriously, that boy could get anything, it was a good thing Riku himself hadn’t realized he had that effect on people. “Fine… I’ll leave the room so that you can talk, but just promise me that you won’t push yourself too hard?” Riku nodded and thanked his brother as he left the room. 

After Tenn closed the door behind him, Riku picked up the phone and turned it on. What he saw next shocked him. He had 17 missed calls and 28 texts, all of them were from Iori. Some were angry, but most were just worried. He must have scared him when he didn’t show up and didn’t answer when Iori tried to contact him either. Riku almost started crying. Why did he always have to mess up so bad? He needed to explain everything to Iori, everything about yesterday and about his condition. After taking a few deep breaths Riku called him. 

“Hello?” However, the voice on the other end line was not one he recognized as Iori’s. “Uhm, hello. I, uh, want to talk to Iori?” It was quiet. Riku double checked so that he had indeed called the right number, which he had. 

“Sorry, Iori’s out at the moment.” Said the voice on the other end. “Oh, I’m sorry if it was a bad time, I’ll just call again later.” 

“Wait!” Riku was just about to end the call when whoever was using Iori’s phone yelled at him to wait. Riku once again put the phone to his ear and asked what he wanted. “Yes?” 

“Uhm, you’re Riku Nanase, right? The guy Iori’s been texting since this summer.” 

“Yes…” 

“I see, well, I’m Mitsuki Izumi, Iori’s older brother.” 

“Oh. I see, Iori always tells me about you, it’s nice to talk to you.” 

“Right… Look, I just want to make sure, you didn’t ditch Iori the other day, did you? He was really upset when he came home, and you better have a really good reason for just leaving him like that!” 

“Yes! You see, that’s actually why I called, I-“ 

“Nii-san? Is that my phone?” Riku could vaguely hear Iori’s voice in the background and felt his heart skip a beat. He needed to talk to him, he needed to make this right. 

“That was Iori, right? Please let me talk to him!” Riku begged him, he could hear faint voices in the background, meaning Mitsuki was probably trying to talk to Iori right now, so Riku waited. After a while a familiar voice reached him. “Hello? Nanase-san?” 

“Iori! Oh my god, I am so sorry! You have no idea! I-I don’t even know where to start, I-I just-“ 

“Okay, okay! Calm down! I’m listening, so just take it from the start, what happened yesterday?” 

“Right… Okay, so, uhm, I might have, you know, passed out in the street yesterday… And I just woke up in the hospital…” 

“…What?” 

“Like I said! I passed out, and now I’m in the hospital!” 

“What? Just like that? Why did you pass out?” 

“Look, Iori… There’s something you should know… I have asthma.” 

“Asthma?” 

“Yes, asthma.” 

“And that’s why you passed out? Must have been pretty bad if it made you lose consciousness.” 

“Yes! See, I’ve had it ever since I was a child, and it’s always been pretty bad. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want you to worry…” 

“How bad is pretty bad?” 

“Well… I was hospitalized a lot as a child, and a lot of things can cause attacks, like house dust, animal fur, temperature or even just stress. My point is, My health has always been bad and I've also had a pretty weak body, and with that thing that happened in the bookstore the other day my condition started to worsen, also, it’s been getting colder outside, and I might have managed to catch a cold without telling anyone, and all of those things combined sort of caused me to collapse…” 

“Why didn’t you just tell me? We could have postponed it! If you weren’t feeling well, then why would you push yourself like that?! That’s just stupid! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I wasn’t even angry at you, I was to busy worrying! I thought something really bad had happened, and apparently I was right!” 

“I’m sorry! But, if it makes you feel better, it really wasn’t that bad of an attack, compared to some I’ve had in the past… I’ll probably be able to leave the hospital soon.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me? About your condition?” 

“Because it always gets in the way. I didn’t want you to treat me differently because of it… I mean, I knew I had to tell you one day, I just… I was enjoying not being the ‘sick kid’ for once.” 

“I just… Really wish you would have told me. Do you not trust me?” 

“That’s not it! Iori, you’re really important to me! I just… didn’t want to mess anything up, but somehow, I still managed to do that…” 

“Oh no, are you crying? Please don’t cry…” 

“I’m not… I’m really sorry though… Will you forgive me?” 

“Well… It was stupid, and reckless, and idiotic and you really should have just said something! But… I guess, it’s fine.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes, I wouldn’t say so if it wasn’t. And… you are really important to me too…” 

“Oh my god, thank you! Thank you so much! I promise you, I will never do something like this again! I am so sorry about what happened, really!” 

“Okay! I get it, I get it! You can stop apologizing now!” 

“Right…” 

“… How are you feeling right now?” 

“So-so I guess… My chest sort of hurts and it’s a bit hard to breath sometimes, but it’ll get better. Like I said, I’ll probably just have to stay in the hospital for a day or two.” 

“Well, I hope you get better soon.” 

“Thank you! Also, when I do get better, do you still want to meet up?” 

“Did you really think I’d let you skip our meeting just because of some asthma? You owe me this meeting, Nanase-san.” 

“Haha, I guess I do!” 

“Although, maybe we should wait for a bit…” 

“Wait? Why?” 

“Well, you are still in the hospital, and we don’t want what happened yesterday to happen again, so make sure that you are fully recovered, then we can start planning our meeting.” 

“Oh, right. I’ll let you know when I’m all better then.” 

“And don’t you dare lie about it.” 

“I won’t!” 

“Good. Well, I mean…” 

“What?” 

“I was just thinking… But then again, no…” 

“What is it?!” 

“Well, I was just thinking that if you didn’t want to wait, I could visit you in the hospital?” 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“You can’t come!” 

“Why not? I thought you wanted to meet me!” 

“And I do! I really do! But it’s really special to me, and I don’t want our first meeting to be in a hospital! Don’t get me wrong, I hate being in the hospital, especially alone, so I would really appreciate you visiting me, but I don’t want the hospital to be the place where we first meet in person. I want it to be more special…” 

“I think I get it… Fine, just focus on getting better. I’ll be here if you need someone to talk to.” 

“Thank you, Iori.” 

“Also, I’m glad you told me in the end.” 

“Yeah, so am I! It feels great to get that off my chest.” 

“Well, good bye for now, and get better.” 

“Thank you, I’ll talk to you later.” 

After that they ended the call. Riku felt so much better already. He had been really worried about talking to Iori about his condition, but now that it was done, he really did feel like he’d done the right thing in telling him. Their first meeting would have to wait, but Riku would do his best to get better as soon as he could, so that it wouldn’t have to wait too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, they made up! I hope you liked this chapter!  
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated!


	18. Worrisome thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku gets discharged from the hospital and still has feelings of doubt, so he talks to Iori about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, second to last chapter, here we go! I'm actually really sad to see this story end, but that also means that I'm quite excited to start writing those possible oneshots! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, as well as you did the previous ones!  
> If you want to reach me you can do so either on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @EFagerhag

Riku (15:33) I AM FREE!!! 

Iori (15:36) Free from what exactly? 

Riku (15:36) Free from the despairingly boring place that is generally known as the hospital! 

Riku (15:36) I was discharged today! And I’m currently on my way home. ^^ 

Iori (15:37) Were you given a ride? You probably shouldn’t try to get home on your own after what happened. 

Riku (15:37) It’s fine! Mom’s giving me a ride. 

Iori (15:37) I see, that’s good. I’m glad you got to go home so soon. 

Riku (15:38) Me too! I really don’t like being at the hospital, especially not for extended periods of time… 

Riku (15:38) It gets so boring there! 

Riku (15:38) Plus, being there serves as a constant reminder that my body is weaker than others’ and it makes me feel sad. 

Iori (15:39) Wow, that took a turn. Are you feeling okay? 

Riku (15:39) Apart from the pain that erupts throughout my chest whenever I cough, my dry throat and being really tired, yeah! I’m great! ^^ 

Iori (15:40) That doesn’t sound like great to me… Are you sure you should be leaving the hospital already? 

Riku (15:40) Don’t worry, Iori! I’ve had attacks like this before, and if I just rest at home for a couple of days, everything will go back to normal! 

Iori (15:40) If you say so… But if it gets worse you have to go back there! 

Riku (15:41) Ugh, you sound like my brother! And right now, that’s not a good thing. I know how to take care of myself, so you really don’t have to worry that much! 

Iori (15:41) I know, I can’t help it. 

Iori (15:41) I would hate it if something happened to you. 

Riku (14:52) Aww, you care! 

Iori (14:52) Of course I do! Did you really doubt that? 

Riku (14:52) Nope! ^^ I’m still really happy that you can actually say such things now, you couldn’t do that at all when we started talking. 

Riku (14:53) You were such a tsundere! 

Iori (14:53) I was not! Ugh, I’m starting to doubt whether I really should care about you or not. 

Riku (14:53) Don’t say that, you know you love me~ 

Iori (14:54) Debatable. 

Riku (14:54) Meany! Well, even though you can be mean, I still care about you too. 

Riku (14:54) So you can’t neglect your own life because you’re worrying about me, okay? 

Iori (14:55) I know that already! You don’t have to tell me that. 

Iori (14:55) Speaking of my own life, I need to go help clean up. Talk to you later. 

Riku (14:56) Okay! Talk to you later, Iori! 

Riku (06:28) Iori, are you awake yet? 

Iori (06:29) I am now. 

Riku (06:29) Oh, I woke you up, I am so sorry! I really didn’t mean to! 

Iori (06:30) It’s fine Nanase-san! 

Iori (06:30) Besides, you didn’t wake me up, I had my alarm set to 06:20. 

Riku (06:30) Oh, right. It’s Monday, so you have school. 

Riku (06:30) Thank god. 

Iori (06:30) I really don’t think you need to thank god for not waking me up. 

Iori (06:31) It’s fine, really. 

Iori (06:31) And anyway, I wouldn’t mind waking up to you. 

Riku (06:31) Huh? 

Iori (06:32) I mean I wouldn’t mind waking up for you! 

Iori (06:32) Or by you! 

Iori (06:32) Your text messages, I mean! 

Iori (06:32) I wouldn’t mind waking up because of your messages. 

Iori (06:33) I didn’t mean waking up with you, here, with me. 

Iori (06:33) Not that I would mind! I’m just saying that that’s not what I meant! 

Riku (06:34) Iori! 

Iori (06:34) Because I really didn’t mean anything by it! 

Riku (06:34) Iori! It’s fine! 

Riku (06:35) I just wanted to make sure that you wouldn’t be angry with me in case I woke you up… 

Riku (06:35) Since you’re usually in such a bad mood in the morning… 

Iori (06:35) Oh. 

Iori (06:36) In that case, no. I would never be angry at you for something like that. 

Riku (06:36) You have been before though… 

Iori (06:36) I know, and even if it may seem like it, I’m not actually mad. 

Iori (06:36) I promise. 

Riku (06:37) Okay, good! ^^ 

Riku (06:37) That makes me feel better. 

Iori (06:38) Well? Did you want anything? 

Iori (06:38) Or was this just an experiment to see if I would get angry at you if you woke me up? 

Riku (06:38) It wasn’t anything important. I just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I thought I’d see if you were awake is all. 

Iori (06:39) Oh, is your condition bothering you? Is it painful? Can I help in any way? 

Riku (06:39) My condition is bothering me a little bit, but it’s not that rare, it’s always worse during the nights. It does hurt sometimes, like if I start coughing or if I move around too much. And you can help by continuing to talk to me! ^^ 

Riku (06:39) Since I’m very bored. 

Iori (06:40) It seems as if you’ve made it your habit to talk to me whenever you are bored… 

Riku (06:40) Yep! Whenever I’m bored, I know talking to you will cheer me right up! ^^ 

Iori (06:41) What’s with that? That’s so cheesy… 

Riku (06:41) I guess I can be a cheesy person sometimes. ^^ 

Iori (06:41) How can you even write stuff like that so easily? 

Riku (06:42) I’ll let you in on a secret. 

Riku (06:42) I don’t. 

Iori (06:42) You don’t what? 

Riku (06:42) I don’t write that stuff super easily. 

Riku (06:43) I write something and send it before I think about what I’ve actually written, then I have a nervous breakdown because I realize how embarrassing that is. 

Iori (06:43) Are you embarrassed right now? 

Riku (06:43) Yes, so I would really appreciate it if you would change the topic of our conversation. 

Iori (06:44) Fine. You mentioned before how your brother came to visit you in the hospital, is he still there? 

Riku (06:44) Nope, Tenn-nii left yesterday, once he knew I would be discharged he said he needed to go back to school. 

Iori (06:45) I see, are you sad about that? 

Riku (06:45) Not really, I mean, it’s a bit lonely, but I’m starting to get used to it. 

Riku (06:45) Plus, I have you! 

Iori (06:46) Yes you do. 

Iori (06:46) But not right now. 

Iori (06:46) I’m sorry, but I need to get ready for school. 

Iori (06:46) I’ll text you when I get home, okay? 

Riku (06:47) That’s fine! Talk to you later! 

Iori (06:47) Good bye! 

Iori (16:55) I’m home from school now. 

Iori (16:55) How are you feeling? 

Iori (17:03) Nanase-san? 

Riku (17:06) Sorry Iori, I was watching TV and fell asleep… 

Riku (17:06) Right now I’m feeling okay! Still a bit sluggish though. 

Iori (17:07) It’s good that you’re feeling okay right now. By the way, how long do you think it will take before you are back to normal? 

Riku (17:07) Well, that’s pretty hard to say, it depends on a lot of things… It could only be a day or two, but it could also be over a week from now. 

Riku (17:07) Why? 

Iori (17:08) Oh nothing. Just, we are still going to meet right? Once you get better, that is! 

Riku (17:08) Of course! I really want to meet you! I was actually a bit worried that you didn’t want to… 

Iori (17:09) Why wouldn’t I want to? I told you before that I did, right? And I was really looking forward to that meeting that didn’t happen! 

Riku (17:09) There it is! I let you down! With the last meeting, and about my health… I just don’t see why you bother to stick with me… I just cause you and everyone around me trouble! It wouldn’t be weird at all if you didn’t want to see me! 

Riku (17:09) It actually wouldn’t even be weird if you stopped talking to me! 

Riku (17:09) I wouldn’t blame you! I mean, I’m not particularly funny or smart, and I just mess everything up all the time! 

Iori (17:10) That’s not true. 

Iori (17:10) You are a wonderful person and don’t think for a second that you’re not good enough. You are passionate and full of life and I always get super happy when I’m talking to you! 

Iori (17:10) It always makes me forget all the bad things, and I just lose myself in you! 

Iori (17:10) You have no right to say those downgrading things about yourself when there are nights when I lie awake thinking about you. 

Iori (17:11) I really like you, Riku Nanase. And don’t you ever think anything else. 

Riku (17:11) Iori… 

Iori (17:12) Wait! 

Iori (17:12) Just forget about that! 

Riku (17:12) Iori? 

Iori (17:12) Yes? 

Riku (17:13) I am going to ask you a question and I want you to answer honestly. Can you do that? 

Iori (17:13) …Okay. 

Riku (17:14) Do you like me? 

Iori (17:14) I don’t really understand, I thought I told you that already? 

Riku (17:14) Yes, but I mean if you really like me? 

Riku (17:15) As more than a friend? 

Riku (17:15) If you don’t that’s fine! 

Iori (17:16) I… 

Riku (17:16) Please, just answer me… 

Iori (17:16) I do. 

Iori (17:17) And I am so sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable! 

Riku (17:17) Good. 

Iori (17:17) Good? 

Riku (17:18) Because I really like you too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally said it! I will most probably be able to get the last chapter up tomorrow, so I hope you are all excited for that! Thank you so much for reading, and your kudos and comments always make me super happy! ^^


	19. Their feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their feelings were revealed both boys didn't know exactly how to deal with it, but in the end, everything is as it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I can't believe that I am here with the final chapter of this story. It means so much to me, as I was not confident that I would be able to finish this, I thought I would just abandon it after a few chapters, like my previous attempts at writing multi-chapter fanfics. But I didn't. And I am so happy with how this story turned out in the end. Thank you all so much for being with me on this journey, I honestly couldn't have done it without your support. So without further ado, here is the last chapter of "Did you order som company", enjoy! <3  
> If you want to find me anywhere else I am on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or Twitter: @EFagerhag

Riku was walking around the neighborhood, hoping the fresh air would calm him down. It was a nice evening, not too cold so he didn’t have that much trouble with being outside. Walking cleared his head. It had been two days since he confessed to Iori and he still couldn’t quite believe what had happened. He honestly didn’t expect that Iori would return his feelings. 

So, what happened after they confessed? Nothing, really. They’ve been talking like usual, nothing drastically changed, other than their respective feelings now being out in the open. They weren’t dating. Mostly because no one had asked the other out yet. Riku couldn’t say why Iori hadn’t asked yet, but he hadn’t done so because it just didn’t feel right to do so before they had met. 

He was worried and scared. What if Iori didn’t like him anymore after having met him properly? Or what if they were both disappointed? He couldn’t help it. Never before had he felt this strongly about another person, he was bound to be worried about the little things. However, he had made a deal with himself. Once they meet, if his emotions are unchanged, he would ask Iori out. Surely, he would say yes, right? He did say he liked him after all. 

Riku’s mind was buzzing with these thoughts, thus, he had decided that he should take a walk, hoping he might be able to sort something out. His condition had improved rapidly, and he was almost back to normal, and, wanting to stay true to his promise, he wouldn’t ask Iori to meet with him until then. At least, that’s what he thought he would do. 

After having walked down the familiar streets for a while he heard a pair of familiar voices call out to him. “Riku! Over here!” He turned around and saw Nagi and Sougo sitting outside one of the restaurants on the opposite side of the road. So, he walked over to the other side and joined the two college students. “Hello Sougo-san, Nagi! What are you doing?” He asked cheerfully. 

“We’re having dinner. But more importantly, how are you feeling? We heard from the manager at the store what had happened…” Sougo said followed by nods from Nagi. 

“I’m much better, thank you! I’ll probably be able to start working again by next week!” 

“That’s a relief! Be sure you watch your health from now on too.” 

“I will, thank you Sougo-san.” It was at this time that the food the two students had ordered was brought to their table. Sougo turned to take it and talked a bit with the waiter. As he did that Nagi turned to Riku and gestured for him to move closer, which he did. “So, Riku, how are things going with that boy you’ve been talking to?” 

Riku blushed but decided that maybe Nagi could help him get his thoughts under controlled. “It’s going fine, we still haven’t met, but we will soon. Also, we sort of… confessed to each other two days ago…” 

“You did what?!” 

“Shh! Nagi, not so loud!” Riku said to the blond. “Sorry, sorry. So, what? Are you dating?” 

“Not really… I mean, neither of us have asked the other out yet… I mean, I just feel like I want to meet him before I ask him, but if Iori asked, it’s not like I would decline, since I really do like him, I just don’t really know how to approach the subject. And what if he doesn’t like me as much after we’ve met? I just-“ 

“Riku! Calm down. You’re rambling.” 

Riku blushed once he realized what he had been doing, and at what volume he’d been talking. He calmed down and then looked at Nagi as the blond started talking again. “Also, did you say his name was Iori? And you told me before that he was a baker, right?” 

Riku was confused, what did that have to do with anything? “Yes, but why are you bringing that up?” 

“Is his surname Izumi? Does he have an older brother named Mitsuki? Is the bakery named Fonte Chocolat?” 

“Yes! Wait, do you know him?” Riku couldn’t believe it. Nagi knew Iori. And Riku also knew Nagi. This was a lot to process. “Yes, I do. Although I’m more acquainted with his brother. I frequent that bakery! It’s such a nice place, kind of reminds me of my home country!” 

“I see…” 

“Look, Iori is a very sweet boy, if it’s him, then you are in good hands. And don’t worry about him liking you less after meeting you in person, he doesn’t do that. He can be quite blunt, so if he didn’t like you he would have let you know. I think you should just ask him.” 

“Wait, now?! I can’t do it now!” 

“And why is that?” 

“Because… Because I want to do it in person! And I have no idea where he lives, besides, I promised him to wait until I was better…” 

“Why wait? If you feel healthy enough to be taking a walk, why shouldn’t you be healthy enough to ask him out? Besides, they live on the second floor of the bakery, if you wait until I’ve finished eating I can take you there.” 

“You would do that?” 

“Of course! Who am I to stand in the way of love? I shall help you!” 

“…Okay. Yeah, please show me the way!” 

And with that, Riku decided that he had done enough waiting. He was finally going to see Iori. The boy who had made his days brighter, given him something to look forward to, and the boy he loved more than anything else in the world. 

The sun was setting and Riku was stood outside of Fonte Chocolat. Nagi had left, Riku had just seen him disappear behind the corner up ahead. He was alone. Looking at the bakery he was filled with warmth. It looked very homely with the pastel colors, as well as the various decorations, and don’t even get him started on the pastries. He thought it fitted Iori quite well. 

Since it was so late the bakery was closed, however the lights were still on and when he looked through the window Riku saw a young boy in there. He was quite short and had orange hair. Was that Mitsuki? It probably was. 

Riku took a deep breath before he took a couple of steps back. How was he going to do this? Should he just knock on the door, tell Iori’s brother who he was and ask that he let him come inside? Or should he text Iori to come down to meet him? Was there perhaps a backdoor that he should go to instead, since he didn’t actually have any business in the bakery? He was at a loss. He hadn’t texted Iori to let him know he was coming, he was way too nervous. But how would Iori take it, if he just showed up like this? Would he be angry? Or happy? For a moment Riku was about to turn around. He knew where Iori lived now, so he could come back later. But then he saw something that immediately made him change his mind. 

Entering the bakery from a door in the back of the room was Iori, he was talking to his brother. Once again, the only thing separating the two boys was a window. As Riku looked at Iori he made up his mind. He wanted to talk to him, he wanted to see him, he wanted to be with him, and he wanted to do all of this right now. If he left, if he waited any longer, he was scared that he would not have the courage to come back. It had to be now. 

He walked up to the door and knocked. The two brothers inside the building turned to the door, both were confused as to what someone was doing there at this hour, since they were closed. Mitsuki walked up to the door and opened it. “I’m really sorry, but we’re closed, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” 

Riku gulped, he had hoped that Iori would be the one to open the door, but he was stood further inside the room, and he hadn’t seen Riku yet, so he decided to just go for it. “I know, I’m very sorry for bothering you, but I’m not a customer, at least not today.” Mitsuki looked a bit confused, what else would he be here for? 

“Uhm, I know it’s late, and I probably shouldn’t have just come over here, but I’d like to talk to Iori for a bit? 

“To Iori?” Mitsuki said, still not fully grasping the situation, he turned to look at his brother who was finally starting to pay attention to their unexpected guest. As Iori looked over at the two standing by the door he froze. It was first after a long, silent minute that he said something. “Nanase-san?” 

“Wait, Nanase? As in Riku Nanase?! YOUR’E the guy Iori’s been talking to for so long?” 

“I guess I am? I am really sorry for just coming unannounced, you see, I met a friend earlier today and he mentioned that he frequents this bakery and offered to show me the way. I know I should have called or texted before coming, I just…” He trailed off, looking at the ground. 

Mitsuki looked back and forth between his brother and the boy standing in their doorway. He then sighed and dragged Riku inside, closing the door behind him. He then started walking towards the backdoor and said, “Well, you two seem to have some stuff to talk about, so I leave cleaning up the rest of the store to you, Iori.” After that, he left. The room was silent, now occupied only by Iori and Riku. 

Looking up at Iori, Riku realized that he should probably say something more. “Iori, listen, I…” 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Huh?” 

“Are you feeling any better?” 

“…I am. Though, I’m not fully recovered yet, sorry for breaking that promise. It’s just that when Nagi mentioned that he could show me the way here, I couldn’t stop myself…” 

“Nagi? As in Rokuya-san? You know him?” 

“Yeah, remember that college student I mentioned before? The one who frequents my aunt’s bookstore?” Iori nodded. “Remember that I said he had a foreign friend he usually brings along?” Iori nodded again as realization dawned on him. “Yeah, that’s him…” 

“I see, so that’s how you came here.” 

Riku nodded, he wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed from here, so he just waited for Iori to say something else, which he soon did. “So, I kind of need to clean up this place, do you want to help? I mean, you should take it easy, since, you know… your condition. But if you want to help you can wash the utensils on the desk behind the cashier?” Riku perked up immediately, he nodded and smiled at Iori as he made his way to where Iori had told him to go. 

Time passed and for about 40 minutes the two boys cleaned up what needed to be cleaned up in the store, all the while making random conversation. It wasn’t awkward at all, like they thought it would be. It was nice, and calming, and comforting. They felt completely at peace with each other. 

“Well, that should be the last of it, thank you for the help, Nanase-san.” Iori said as he finished what he was doing. “It’s fine! I’m glad I could help.” Riku smiled, however, his expression soon turned more serious. “Hey Iori?” Iori looked at him and signaled for him to continue. “You’re not mad at me for just showing up like this, right?” 

Iori smiled and walked closer, he raised a hand a put it on Riku’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb along the fabric of his shirt in comforting circles. “Of course not. It made cleaning up a lot more fun. It might not have been exactly how I imagined our first meeting would go, but I’m happy with it. Thank you for coming all this way.” 

Riku couldn’t take it anymore. He smiled the brightest smile he could manage as he started tearing up, and before he knew it he had buried his face in Iori’s chest wrapped his arms around his waist. “Good…” Was all he said, but he wasn’t sure Iori had heard him since it came out sort of muffled against the fabric of Iori’s shirt. 

Iori could feel his face heat up and he would not be surprised if his cheeks matched the color of Riku’s hair. He carefully slid his own arms around Riku’s waist, returning the sudden embrace. He let his chin rest upon Riku’s head and he couldn’t help but think about how soft it was and how good it smelled. And they stayed like that for a while, not saying anything, just taking in the other’s presence, enjoying the warmth they had longed for during such a long time. 

After a while Riku turned his head around so that rather than burying his face in Iori’s chest, he was now resting his head on his shoulder instead. “Your heart is beating very loudly…” He said. Iori stiffened. “O-of course it is! I-I mean, I just…” Riku just laughed at the way Iori got so embarrassed. “Or maybe it’s just mine, I honestly can’t tell them apart right now.” He whispered and just hugged Iori closer before he let go completely. However, he stayed close, mere centimeters away from Iori. Riku put his hands on Iori’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. 

“Iori, I really like you.” He said, although it was so quiet that if Iori had been standing further away he might not have heard it. He smiled and put his hands up to Riku’s waist, like when they were hugging before, but this time, instead of holding him close, he just let his hands rest there, lightly, barely touching. “I really like you too.” 

Riku smiled, then he swallowed, he knew how Iori felt, but he couldn’t help but be nervous. “You know, I’ve been thinking… And I was sort of anxious because I didn’t know how you felt about it, and we still hadn’t met, and I think I was just feeling a bit insecure, but… I know now.” He paused to take a deep breath, then he looked Iori straight in the eyes and said, “Iori, I want you to be my boyfriend.” 

Iori’s eyes widened. Sure, he had been thinking the same thing, but he hadn’t known at all when to bring it up, he blamed his previous inexperience in the matter. But hearing Riku tell him what he himself had wanted to say made him unbelievably happy. “I’d love that. I wanted the same thing.” He said and neither really needed to say anything else to know just how much they meant to each other. 

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Iori leant forward, slowly inching closer to Riku, and then their lips met. It wasn’t the best kiss they would share, in fact, it was pretty bad, both being completely inexperienced and kind of awkward when it came to romance. But even though it wasn’t the best, it was one of the most memorable ones they would ever come to experience. 

They met by chance, but neither could deny that it felt like they had been brought together by fate. Both needed someone to rely on, someone to trust, and someone to care for just as much as they wound up caring for each other. The feelings that had blossomed faster then either could have ever imagined, yet not fast enough, finally came to fruition. They finally had each other, and they couldn’t ask for any greater happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go. It's finished. Done. I am really emotional right now, I am so happy that I decided to write this story and I'm just really, really happy with how it turned out in the end. Thank you all so much for reading this, thank you for leaving kudos and comments, they all mean the world to me, and I really enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions on it! It always managed to brighten my day and I can't even find words to describe just how happy this all has made me. Like I said before, I do plan on writing more for this story, but don't expect it soon, as I will be moving tomorrow, and then starting Uni on monday! But I do plan to come back to this story with some one-shots about Ioriku in a realtionship, and I might also start some other stories, we'll see about that! So I hope you will be looking forward to more in the future, once again, thank you SO much! I love you guys! <3<3<3


	20. Extra Chapter 1: First date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been one month since Riku and Iori got together, and Riku have been wanting to ask Iori out on a real date for a long time, but doesnt really know how. Then, one day, Iori turns up at the bookstore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I am back! It's been a while but like said, I am back with a new chapter! ^^ I actually started writing this two weeks ago, intending to have it published last weekend, but schoolwork and some family matters got in the way, then I managed to get some time on my hands this weekend and decided to finish it. So here it is! The first one-shot taking place after the end of the actual story. As of right now, I have at least one more short story planned for this AU that I would like to post, but I don't know when I'll be able to have it finished, so just be patient with me, there will be more of this in the future! If you want to contact me you can do so via tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or via twitter: @EFagerhag. Without further ado, enjoy this story!

It was a normal, calm Friday and Riku had spent his time organizing the books and cleaning out the store in between helping the occasional customer. It had been quite all day and the only other people that had come to the little bookstore that day was a young boy and two elderly women. It was peaceful days like these that were Riku’s favorites.  


Riku looked up at the clock on the wall, it showed 16:43, meaning Iori was probably finished with school by now. Picking up his phone, Riku decided to text his now boyfriend to ask about how his day had been. The concept of Iori being his boyfriend was still new and exciting, despite them having been going out for an entire month already.  


Even though they had been together for a month, they had actually only met up twice in person. Or at least if you didn’t count that first night in the bakery or the time at the train station. One of those times were because Riku forgot his gloves in the bakery the very same night they got together, thus he had to go back there a couple of days later to pick them up. The other time they met was by chance. They ran into each other in town and ended up getting lunch together. Despite the date-like setting for this, Riku refused to count this as their first actual date.  


Of course, they still talked everyday and their phone calls kept getting longer and longer recently. Riku, however, was still too flustered to ask Iori out on a proper date. Which was kind of ridiculous considering how comfortable the two boys were around each other. He really wanted to do it, but every time he tried to bring it up he failed to get the question out in the open. Why did he always have to be so awkward? They were already dating, yet Riku couldn’t bring himself to ask Iori to meet up again.  


Riku sighed and looked down at his phone. no new messages. Maybe Iori had stayed behind to study? Just as he thought this he heard the doorbell, signaling that a customer had just entered the store. As Riku looked up to greet the customer he was met with a sight he did not expect.  


“Hello, Nanase-san.” It was Iori. Riku’s boyfriend, the very person he had wanted to see, was standing inside the bookstore where he worked. “I-Iori?! W-wh-what are you-?” Riku flushed and stuttered, and as he was getting up he fell off the chair he was sat in and hit the floor. Iori, who worried Riku had gotten hurt in the process, immediately rushed to his side. “Are you okay?”  


Riku rubbed his butt, the fall hadn’t been that bad, but it had still hurt a bit. When he looked up he noticed that Iori was no longer stood in the door opening, rather, he was crouching down next to him. Right next to him. In other words, their faces were now mere centimeters away from each other. “Ah…!” Riku gasped as his cheeks turned scarlet at their close proximity. He quickly looked down and hid his face in his hands, trying to prevent Iori from seeing the blush that was rapidly spreading. This, however, had the complete opposite effect and only worried Iori more.  


“Nanase-san? Are you badly hurt? You’re not going to get an attack, are you? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Hearing Iori’s onslaught of questions, Riku suddenly realized that he was just making the situation worse. And so, he took a deep breath and calmed down. “I-I’m fine! Really, you don’t have to worry!” Iori did not look convinced. Riku then properly faced his boyfriend, looking into his dark blue/gray eyes. “I’m really not hurt. Who would need to go to the hospital after falling off a chair anyway?” They smiled at each other and then Iori sighed and stood up, reaching out his hand to Riku in order to help him get up. Riku accepted and was then pulled back to his feet. Only, Iori didn’t let go of his hand, he held onto it and when Riku looked up at him quizzically all he did was look away. Looking closer, Riku was able to notice a slight pink dusting the younger boy’s cheeks.  


Riku looked back down to their intertwined hands and smiled. It was amazing how Iori was able to make him so happy with such a small gesture. Either way, Riku found it adorable and squeezed Iori’s hand in return, saying that it was okay to keep it as it was. “So…” Riku started, getting the other boy’s attention. “What are you doing here?” But before Iori could give his answer, another question popped into Riku’s head and just as Iori was about to give his reasons for showing up out of the blue he was interrupted. “Wait! How did you even know where to go? I don’t think I ever told you the name of this store, right?” Riku asked, puzzled.  


“W-well… I may have asked Rokuya-san…” Iori answered bashfully. Riku blinked, letting the new piece of information sink in. “Right, he frequents your bakery.” He then stated. “Exactly, although he talks way more with Nii-san than he does with me.”  


“You know, if you wanted to know the name of this store or where it was, you could have just asked me…” Riku said and looked at Iori. “I know that! I just…” Iori stopped mid-sentence and started blushing. Riku raised an eyebrow and turned his head to be able to see Iori’s face better. Seeing this didn’t make Iori’s situation any easier. After all, Riku looked absolutely adorable, Iori’s heart couldn’t take it. “I wanted to surprise you… Since I knew you’d be working today I thought it would be easier to just come directly here.”  


Riku smiled brightly, his boyfriend was just so sweet! Though, he was still a bit confused as to why Iori was here, surely it wasn’t just to surprise him. Iori seemed to be able to read Riku’s thoughts as he soon answered all the questions Riku had asked himself in his own head. “I just thought, you know, since we are, well, going out…” Iori was clearly very flustered so Riku just looked at him and smiled, patiently waiting for his boyfriend to properly explain. “What I’m trying to say is! That since we have been dating for a month today I just thought we could do something!” He finished, after which he turned around in order to hide his blush, he was so not used to this whole boyfriend thing.  


It took a while for Riku to properly process Iori’s words before he realized why his boyfriend had come to see him. Iori was trying to ask Riku out on a date. For their one-month anniversary. He bashfully looked at the floor and smiled to himself. Iori was so sweet. Riku glanced up at the clock, it now showed 17:07. He then turned around, poked Iori’s shoulder and smiled as he turned around to face him. “Thank you! That makes me really happy!” Iori blushed even harder but didn’t break eye contact this time. Instead, he just nodded. “I get off work in about 50 minutes but I doubt there’ll be any more customers today, you can just have a look around, or sit by the window over there! My aunt will be here by six to close up the store for the day so maybe we could go out and get dinner together afterwards?”  


Iori nodded. And Riku was right, there were no more customers that evening so the two boys sat in the two chairs by the window and talked about everything and nothing. And if those chairs ended up standing slightly closer to each other by the time Riku's aunt arrived than they did before, no one was able to point it out.

Riku’s aunt arrived at the bookstore a couple of minutes earlier than planned, and hearing about the plans the two boys had made, she hastily excused them. Riku went to get changed and then they were off. 

“So, did you have anything planned? Or should we just see where we end up?” Riku asked Iori. The redhead was very excited, and it showed in everything he did. He was smiling brightly and couldn’t stand still. Seeing how happy he looked, Iori couldn’t help but smile too, his boyfriend had a very contagious smile after all. “Well, I do have somewhere I want us to go, but it’s still rather early so we can go there later. In the meantime we can go get dinner, I haven’t really thought of where to go though, so you can decide if you want.” He said. 

Riku thought about it. What kind of food did Iori like? He mentioned before that he wasn’t a picky eater, but Riku really wanted to be sure that he chose a place that both would enjoy. Looking around, he tried to spot someplace where they could eat. Suddenly, something caught his eye. “Do you like soba?” Riku said as he turned to Iori. “Soba?” Iori questioned. To which Riku only nodded and then pointed to a restaurant up ahead. 

“One of Tenn-nii’s friends loves soba and he keeps talking about this one shop that is supposed to be the best, I think that is the one he was talking about…” Iori took a closer look at the restaurant. It was called Yamamura Soba and was fairly normal looking, yet had a certain cozy feeling to it. If Riku wanted to try it out, Iori didn’t see the problem. “Let’s go, then.” He said and took Riku’s hand in his own as he started walking towards their new destination. He did his best to look calm and composed but he was freaking out on the inside. It still surprised him just how much Riku affected him, but he wasn’t about to complain. 

The two boys entered the restaurant, ordered their food and sat down at one of the tables in the corner of the room where they didn’t have to worry too much about other people giving them unwanted attention. They talked for a bit until their food arrived and then they started eating. “You know, this is actually pretty good.” Iori said as he took another bite. “Right? I’ll have to tell my brother about this!” Riku replied happily, but then, all of a sudden, his expression turned sour. Iori raised an eyebrow in question. 

“On second thought, that might not be that good of an idea…” Riku said after a while. “Why not? I thought you told him everything.” Was all Iori said. And it was true, Riku would often bring up what he and his brother talked about, and some of the topics were things that Iori himself wouldn’t even talk to his brother about, and Iori believed he was very open with his brother. He realized that Riku and Tenn were twins, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous about how close the two were. Not to mention that he hadn’t really had the best experiences dealing with Riku’s overprotective brother. 

“Well, I do… It’s just that he really gets on my case whenever I bring up anything even related to you. I don’t think he likes you very much… So, if I told him we went here on a date, he would freak out. Plus, I sort of promised to tell him this stuff, but I haven’t, I mean, he doesn’t even know that we’re dating because he would probably try to kill you and I don’t want that.” As Riku rambled on Iori could do nothing but stare at his boyfriend and listen. He just fully understood how big of a hurdle Tenn Nanase was going to be if he wanted this relationship with Riku to last. 

“While I appreciate you trying to make sure your brother doesn’t kill me, won’t it just be worse when he inevitably finds out about us?” Iori questioned. “I know! I just don’t know how to tell him! I really care about him, and I really, really care about you! And I also want him to realize just how much this means to me, because then, maybe he will stop trying to sabotage this!” Riku burst out. Hearing Riku saying how he really cared caught Iori a bit off guard and he turned his head to the side in order to hide the blush that was forming on his cheeks. 

Once Iori had managed to collect himself he cleared his throat and asked a question. “I thought he did stop with the sabotaging? Didn’t he?” Riku sighed before answering. “Well, sort of… He still tells me that he doesn’t like me talking to you, and that if you do something I need to tell him so that he can mess up your life, basically. Which is getting really tiring.” At that moment Iori got and idea. It could possibly be a great idea, but it could also be the worst idea he’d ever had. “What if I met him?” 

Hearing Iori’s suggestion, Riku considered what had just been said for a minute before speaking up. “Tenn-nii? You want to meet my brother?” Iori nodded hesitantly. “I mean, it will have to happen sooner or later… I don’t know, maybe it would just make everything worse.” Iori replied. 

“I think it’s a good idea! Then Tenn-nii can see for himself that you’re not someone suspicious and then he will not hate you anymore!” Riku said excitedly. “Or, it could make him dislike me even more.” Is all Iori said. “It was your suggestion!” After that, it got quiet, but this time it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as it was before. Riku decided he had to say something. “Look, it’s fine, we can wait. I know this whole relationship thing is really new and I really want to be with you more. I’m not going to let my brother stop us, and you don’t need to worry about him. But, I would like it if you could meet him in person someday, I think that once he gets over whatever it is that bothers him so much, he will actually really like you.” Riku said, after which he reached across the table in order to grab Iori’s hand. 

Iori smiled at both Riku’s words and the small gesture of grabbing his hand and started caressing the soft skin with his thumb in appreciation. “Thank you. You know, I’ve never really done this relationship thing before, so I’m not sure about what to do or when to do it. But I…” Iori trailed off for a bit, swallowed, and then continued. “I really don’t want to lose you, so if I ever do something wrong, please tell me.” Riku nodded and squeezed his boyfriend’s hand a bit harder. 

A couple of minutes later they had finished eating their food and was now leaving the restaurant. It had gotten quiet dark and chilly outside so as soon as they stepped out, Riku clung onto Iori’s arm and walked close to keep warm. Iori, of course, didn’t mind this, even though he was a scared that Riku would hear just how fast his heart started beating at the contact. “So, where to now?” The redhead asked his boyfriend. 

Hearing the question, Iori looked at the wristwatch that adorned his right arm, it was currently 19:53. “When do you need to be back home?” He then asked. “Well, I don’t really have a curfew, and I’m not really doing anything tomorrow… Mom just made me promise to call her if it got too late so that she or my dad could come pick me up.” Riku answered. 

“Okay, I don’t think we’ll be out too long, so it’s probably fine. I just kind of have something I want to give you…” Iori said to Riku, after which the older looked slightly confused. “Can’t you just give it to me now? Do we need to be somewhere special for this?” He asked skeptically. “Well, we don’t need to, but I sort of wanted the setting to be special, and…” Iori trailed off. Riku gave him a questioning look. “And…?” He urged Iori to continue, but the other boy remained silent and just kept walking. And even if he was thinking about how he wanted an excuse to spend more time with his adorable boyfriend, he would never allow himself to let Riku know this. 

They walked for a while and about 20 minutes later, they reached their destination. “A park?” Riku questioned. “Not just a park. It’s a park that barely anyone visits.” Iori then stated, which honestly didn’t make the situation any clearer for Riku. As he continued, a blush slowly started making its way onto Iori’s cheeks. “You know, so there won’t be people here… And we don’t have to worry about people seeing us…” He said and then, realization dawned on Riku’s face. Soon, the two boys stood there with matching red faces. “Besides, it has a pretty fountain, so I thought it could be nice!” Iori then said as if to break the awkward atmosphere. 

The two of them then entered the park and sat down on one of the benches in front of the fountain. As Riku finally took a moment to process his surroundings he realized that it was actually a very nice park. Trees along the roads which obstructed the view from the road outside, making it seem more private. The simple, yet elegant stone fountain in the center which was lit up in a very beautiful way, making the different lights dance across the water. It was very simple, yet that was what made it so charming. For a moment Riku wondered why there weren’t more people there, but then he thought that if there were, the tiny park would quickly loose its charm. 

“So…” Iori broke the silence and Riku turned to look at his boyfriend. “So…” Riku said, mimicking what Iori just said. “Just so you know, it’s nothing big, so don’t get disappointed or anything. I just sort of remembered you saying you wanted to try this, so I thought I could give you some.” As he said this, Iori bent down and picked a box out of his bag. It wasn’t very small, but it wasn’t particularly big either. Iori handed it over and Riku graciously took it in his hands. For a while he just looked at it, but after a while, sensing Iori’s impatient stare, he opened it. Inside were four pastries. 

“You said before that you wanted to try something that I made, so I made something for you. There’s a note in there saying what the different kinds are.” Riku took a closer look, they all looked delicious. Not only that, they all had really cute designs. He loved them, and he hadn’t even tried them yet. He then looked at his boyfriend and smiled. “Thank you so much! These look amazing!” 

“I’m glad you seem to like them.” Said Iori, thrilled to see Riku so happy over something so small, which, once again, reminded him just how much of a simple person Riku was. Iori wasn’t complaining though, it was adorable. However, soon Riku’s mouth turned into a pout, worrying Iori that he had done something wrong. “What is it? Is something wrong? Did I do something bad? Are you not feeling well?” He asked, eager to know what had the older boy dissatisfied. 

“No, no! Don’t worry about it! It’s just that I didn’t get you anything, even though you prepared all this for me… I feel kind of bad…” Riku didn’t want Iori to worry, but he really wished he, too, had gotten the other boy a gift. Hearing what was bothering Riku, Iori’s expression immediately softened. “Don’t. It’s really fine! I mean, I didn’t even tell you I was coming, so you didn’t have a chance to prepare anything.” After that Iori held both of Riku’s hands in his and moved them over to rest on his own lap. “I still feel shitty…” Riku said and kept pouting. He knew he hadn’t done anything bad, he just couldn’t help it. 

Suddenly, an idea popped into Iori’s head. “Well, how about you give me something then?” At this, Riku just looked confused. “I just told you I didn’t prepare anything, so how can I give you something?” He asked. 

“I’ll tell you something that I want, and then you can give that to me.” Iori said. Riku still looked a bit skeptical but nodded his head anyway. “Take me on another date next weekend?” Iori then asked. 

Having realized the request, Riku’s entire faced turned crimson. Still, he nodded excitedly and quickly agreed to do it. It was what he had wanted to do for a long time anyway. After that, the two of them just sat there quietly, enjoying each other’s company for a while before Riku shifted slightly so that he was siting on his side, facing Iori. The younger was slightly taken aback by this, not sure what the redhead wanted. “Close your eyes.” Was all Riku said, which didn’t really make Iori feel better. “Why?” He asked, still skeptic to this whole situation. 

Riku sighed, sometimes, Iori was quite hard to deal with. “I just… realized that I do, in fact, have something I want to give you. Right now. But you have to close your eyes, it’s a surprise!” The older explained. Iori did as he was told and closed his eyes, waiting for whatever his boyfriend was going to do. 

Next thing he knew, there was something soft and warm pressing against his lips and he realized that Riku was kissing him. For a while he did nothing, but when Riku started to pull away Iori immediately missed the warmth of having the other boy so close. Iori put one hand on the side of Riku’s face and the other on his waist and pulled him closer, only to kiss him once more, slowly, softly and lovingly. Riku could do nothing but wrap his arms around Iori’s neck and melt into his embrace. 

This was actually only their second kiss, they had kissed that night in the bakery, when they got together, but not since. Because of this, kissing was still new to both of them. They held onto each other as if their life depended on it, yet there was something undeniably tender about the way they were touching. One kiss turned into many and it was not until a couple of minutes later that the two boys properly separated, though they still stayed mere inches away from each other, neither wanting to be apart from the other. 

Riku leaned in closer again, but this time, instead of connecting their lips, he let his forehead rest against Iori’s. “I take it you liked the gift then.” He said, which made Iori laugh. It was a breathy, silent laugh that made Riku’s heart clench with happiness. It really didn’t help when Iori gave him the softest, most genuine smile the redhead had ever seen. Riku had always thought that he was rather good with words and that he knew quite a lot of more complicated ones, but at this moment he could only think of one. Beautiful. 

“I guess I did.” Was Iori’s response. For a while after that the two of them stayed in the park, sat at the bench, and just talked while sharing the occasional kiss and just enjoying being together. Sooner or later though, they did have to go home. As they rose to leave they started arguing about who was going to walk the other home. Riku was saying that he should be the one to follow Iori home, since he was the oldest, while Iori, being worried about Riku’s health, was insisting that he follow Riku home, so that nothing happened to him on the way. In the end, Iori won. 

Having reached Riku’s home a while later, they said their goodbyes, shared one last kiss and then went their separate ways. Their relationship may have just started, and they may still not know everything about the other, but they were certain that they wanted to share many moments together in the future, just like they had that night. And so ended their first ever real date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was that! I'm rather happy with how this turned out, so I really hope you liked this! I've really been missing this story so it felt nice to come back to it again. ^^ Anyway, thank you so much for reading and stayed tuned for more in the future, although I have no idea when that will be. As always, kudos and comments really make my day, they are highly appreciated! <3


	21. Extra Chapter 2: Tenn and Iori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has finally come for Iori and Tenn to meet! Will they come to accept each other? Or will all hell break loose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I am back! With a new chapter! I'm happy I got to finish this, as I've had this idea since before the main story was even finished. A few of you have been asking for this and I hope you'll be happy with what I've got. ^^ Here it is, Iori and Tenn's first meeting, I hope you enjoy this! If you want to contact me you can either do so via Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com or via Twitter: @EFagerhag.

Riku (22:48) Hey, Tenn-nii? 

Riku (22:48) Are you still awake? 

Tenn (22:49) I am. What’s up? 

Riku (22:50) There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now. 

Riku (22:50) I know that I should have told you earlier, but… 

Riku (22:50) I guess I wasn’t sure exactly how to tell you? 

Tenn (22:51) What is it? You know you can tell me anything, right? 

Riku (22:51) I know! And I really do regret not telling you this earlier, but, you see, it’s the first time I’m doing this and every time I try to tell you there’s just something that’s keeping me from doing so… 

Riku (22:52) But this is something I really want you to know… 

Tenn (22:55) Yes? I’m waiting. 

Riku (22:56) Sorry, sorry! I’m still just a bit nervous… 

Tenn (22:56) Take your time. 

Riku (22:56) Okay. 

Riku (22:56) Here I go. 

Riku (22:57) I’m dating Iori. 

Tenn (22:58) What? 

Riku (22:58) Iori and I are dating. 

Tenn (22:58) For how long? 

Riku (22:59) 1 month and 2 weeks. 

Riku (22:59) Approximately. 

Tenn (23:00) RIKU! 

Riku (23:00) I’m so sorry for not saying anything sooner! 

Riku (23:00) I just suddenly got so nervous… 

Riku (23:01) But I really am sorry! You have to believe me! 

Tenn (23:01) I can’t believe this. 

Tenn (23:01) You promised you’d tell me about this stuff! 

Riku (23:02) I’m so sorry!!! 

Tenn (23:02) Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now… 

Tenn (23:03) Congratulations? I guess? 

Tenn (23:03) I’d like to make myself very clear, I don’t like you doing this, and I also don’t like the guy you’re dating. 

Riku (23:03) His name is Iori. 

Tenn (23:03) Whatever. 

Tenn (23:04) But if you’re really that happy about this, then I guess I’m also kind of happy for you… 

Riku (23:04) Thank you, Tenn-nii! That really means a lot to me! 

Riku (23:04) You’re the best big brother in the entire world! 

Tenn (23:05) However. 

Riku (23:05) Oh no, what is it now? 

Tenn (23:05) Why do you immediately assume it’s something bad? 

Riku (23:06) Because I know you. 

Tenn (23:06) Firstly, rude. 

Tenn (23:06) Secondly, all I was going to say is that I’ll be paying your boyfriend a visit. 

Tenn (23:06) Soon. 

Tenn (23:06) Really soon. 

Riku (23:07) What? Just like that?! 

Tenn (23:07) Is there a problem with that? 

Riku (23:07) Of course there is! 

Riku (23:07) You can’t just show up out of the blue! What about college? 

Tenn (23:08) It won’t hurt to skip a day or two. 

Riku (23:08) But you already took some time off to come visit me when I was hospitalized! 

Riku (23:08) Also, I want to be there when you meet Iori! 

Tenn (23:09) Why? 

Riku (23:09) Because I don’t trust that you will behave around him! You’ll just say something weird that will either hurt him or mess up our relationship! 

Riku (23:10) I also want to make sure that you don’t loose it and do something illegal. 

Tenn (23:10) I wouldn’t actually do something illegal. 

Tenn (23:10) Not unless he hurts you at least… 

Riku (23:11) See! That right there is why I’m not gonna let you meet with him without me! 

Tenn (23:11) …Fine. 

Tenn (23:12) Let me know when the next time you’re meeting him is, I’ll take some time off from school and come back home. 

Riku (23:12) No. 

Tenn (23:12) No? 

Riku (23:13) You shouldn’t take time off from school for this! You have 2 weeks off from school because of Christmas and New Years in about 3 weeks anyway, can’t you wait until then? 

Tenn (23:14) 3 weeks is a long time! What if something happens to you before then?! 

Riku (23:14) It won’t! 

Riku (23:14) But if it does, I promise you that you’ll be the first I’ll tell about it! 

Riku (23:15) Okay? 

Tenn (23:15) Fine. 

Tenn (23:15) I’ll wait till Christmas. 

Riku (23:15) Thank you! 

Riku (16:33) Iori, are you home yet? 

Riku (16:33) Or are you still in school? 

Iori (16:35) I just got back home, why? 

Riku (16:35) How was your day? ^^ 

Iori (16:36) It was good, I guess. Was that all you wanted? 

Riku (16:36) What? I can’t check up on my boyfriend? Do you hate it that much if I message you simply because I like you and care about you? 

Riku (16:36) You hurt me, Iori. 

Iori (16:37) You know that’s not it, I love it when you message me, even if your texts are completely pointless. 

Riku (16:37) Wow, thanks, it feels great to know how much my concern means to you. 

Riku (16:37) BUT! 

Iori (16:38) ? 

Riku (16:38) I did actually have something special I wanted to talk about, I just thought I’d do some small talk first. 

Iori (16:39) Oh, okay. 

Iori (16:39) What did you want? 

Riku (16:39) What will you be doing over Christmas break? 

Iori (16:40) I guess I’ll be celebrating Christmas with my family? And also New Years. 

Iori (16:40) I’ll probably have some homework to do as well. 

Iori (16:40) And I might help in the bakery, it’s always busy over Christmas. 

Riku (16:41) Think you can squeeze in a date or two? I was thinking we could have a little Christmas celebration of our own. 

Iori (16:41) I would love that. Of course, I’ll make some time for you. 

Riku (16:41) Great! 

Riku (16:42) Oh, and there was another thing. 

Iori (16:42) What? 

Riku (16:43) Tenn-nii will be coming home for Christmas and New Years and I might have told him that we’re dating, and he might be planning to pay you a visit. 

Iori (16:43) Wait, what? 

Iori (16:44) Do I need to be worried about this? 

Riku (16:44) Probably not? I mean I was able to convince him to wait until he got home for Christmas instead of taking time off from school to come here and torment you, also I made him promise to let me be there when he meets you. 

Riku (16:45) Are you mad? I’m really sorry for not asking you about this before, but I’ve kind of already promised him he could meet you… 

Iori (16:45) It’s fine, I’m not mad. I would have to meet him sooner or later. I’m kind of glad you’ll be there too though… 

Riku (16:46) Don’t worry, he’s not that scary! ^^ 

Iori (16:46) I never said I was scared of him! 

Riku was restless. Very restless. Patience was never something Riku was very good at. And it was precisely during moments like these, when waiting for something with anticipation, that his inability to be patient made itself very clear. The air around him was filled with the wonderful scent of his mother’s cooking and the sound of his father taking a shower could vaguely be heard from the sofa in the living room where Riku was currently sat. A sigh escaped him as he kept waiting for who he knew was about to arrive. 

Then, as if on que, the sound of someone knocking on the front door could be heard throughout the house. “I’ll get it!” Riku yelled as he stood up from the couch and sprinted to the door. He immediately opened it, revealing his older twin brother. “Tenn-nii!” Before the other boy even had a chance to get inside the house, Riku had thrown himself on his brother, hugging him with a vice-like grip. Tenn chuckled and wrapped his own arms around Riku’s waist, returning the sudden embrace his brother had decided to give him. 

Realizing they were still stood outside in the cold winter air, Tenn tried to break away. However, Riku clearly had no intention of letting go of his brother. Sighing, Tenn decided that the best course of action would be to gently kick his bag inside the house and then walk inside himself while still holding onto Riku, making the younger boy back into the warmth of their home. Once they were both inside and the door was closed and locked behind them Riku unwillingly let Tenn go. “Welcome back! I missed you so much!” He exclaimed and smiled brightly at the older boy. 

Tenn couldn’t help but smile back, his younger brother was just too adorable, not that he would ever tell anyone that he thought so. (Even though EVERYBODY already knows) “I missed you too. Are you feeling okay? It’s gotten a lot colder during the past week.” He asked in concern. “Mhm! I’m fine!” Riku answered after which he led Tenn inside to join their mother in the kitchen. 

A few hours later, after a family dinner and some catching up, Riku and Tenn were alone in Riku’s bedroom. They were sat on Riku’s bed, leaning against the headboard, and talking to each other. 

“So, when will I get to meet your… boyfriend?” Tenn asked, making sure that it could be heard how much he disliked using the word ‘boyfriend’ in this context. Riku just rolled his eyes and smiled at his brother. “Well, he’ll be coming over on Monday. He promised to help his parents in the bakery tomorrow and he is supposed to go visit his grandmother on Sunday.” Riku explained. 

Tenn frowned, while he didn’t like the fact that Riku now had a boyfriend one bit, he had to admit that his younger brother did look happier. He didn’t like that he had no idea what this ‘Iori Izumi’ was like, he didn’t like the way they met, he didn’t like the possibility of this guy hurting his precious brother in any way. He also didn’t like the fact that he no longer seemed to be Riku’s favorite person, but he would never admit this to anyone, not even himself. But despite all of the things Tenn disliked about this situation, he could clearly see how much this meant to Riku. His brother was in love and it showed in everything he did. Seeing Riku this happy and at peace made his chest feel warm and a small part of him was truly grateful to Iori for giving Riku this happiness. Another thing that he would never ever admit out loud. (Especially not to Iori or Riku) 

Standing outside the train station in the cold really wasn’t something Riku should make a habit out of, but right now, the cold barely bothered him. It was Monday, aka the day Iori and Tenn would meet for the first time. Riku would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. A few minutes ago, he had managed to escape his brother’s onslaught of questions and demands, sneaking out of the house without him following and was currently stood outside the train station waiting for his boyfriend to arrive. 

It didn’t take long, exactly 2 minutes and 13 seconds after he arrived, he could see Iori walking towards him. Smiling brightly, he jogged over to him and proceeded to throw his arms around Iori’s neck, hugging the other boy tightly. “N-Nanase-san?” Iori stuttered out, still a bit caught off guard by Riku’s sudden displays of affection while they were out in public. Despite being a bit flustered, Iori gently returned the embrace, enjoying the warmth coming off Riku’s body in the chilly weather. 

As they started walking back to Riku’s home they talked. They talked about Iori’s weekend, how helping out in the bakery had gone and how it had been to visit his grandmother. Iori then started furiously question Riku about his brother. Needless to say, Iori was terrified. He had already met Riku’s parents and they were both really nice, they also seemed really accepting of their relationship. To be honest, Tenn Nanase was probably the biggest hurdle they would have to overcome in order for their relationship to progress. 

Riku just laughed at Iori, seeing as he was really worried about this. He still gave him pointers though, not wanting Tenn to actually kill his boyfriend after just a little more than two months of dating. A couple of minutes later, after some more questions and reassurances they reached the Nanase family’s home. Opening the door Riku yelled out; “I’m home! Iori’s here too!” 

Iori bent down to untie his shoelaces, he placed his shoes to the side and proceeded with taking off his jacket and hanging it on one of the hangers in the wardrobe. Iori then turned around only to be met by a deathly cold stare and a sudden sense of doom. “Ah, Tenn-nii! Sorry for just running off like that before.” Riku said and went over to his brother. He then gestured to Iori. “This is Iori, my boyfriend. Iori, this is Tenn, my older twin brother.” 

Iori gulped, held out his hand and spoke. “I’m Iori Izumi, it’s nice to meet you.” Tenn didn’t say anything, he just kept staring and shook Iori’s hand. Before he let go, he squeezed harder, making Iori wince in pain. After this, the room turned silent. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Riku quickly grabbed one of both Iori and Tenn’s hands. “Let’s go to the living room, okay? I can make tea for us and you two can sit down and get to know each other.” He said while smiling. Seeing the redhead's smile made both Iori and Tenn relax slightly and they followed Riku into the living room. They both sat down on opposite ends of the sofa while Riku walked over to the kitchen, leaving his boyfriend and brother alone. 

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife, deciding that he had to at least try to talk to Tenn, Iori decided to start talking. “So… Is it nice to be home over Christmas?” Admittedly, that wasn’t the best ice breaker Iori had ever come up with, but it was better than staying quiet until Riku came back. 

“I suppose.” Was Tenn’s answer, he glanced over at Iori, looking unamused. “Right…” Iori said, he was at a loss. What would you usually talk about with your boyfriend’s brother who hated your very existence? “You know you don’t have to force yourself to make conversation, right?” Tenn spoke up, perhaps he sensed Iori’s dilemma. Iori just looked at him with a questioning look. “Let’s just get this over with. I don’t like you, and I don’t expect you to like me. However, I’m not blind. I can see how much this means to Riku, he’s happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. So, I’ll be honest with you. As long as things stay this way, I’m not going to break your face, I’ll even be willing to pretend I like you when others are around. For Riku’s sake. But the moment you hurt him, the moment you break his heart, you’re a dead man. Understand?” 

Iori was still a bit nervous, but ultimately, Tenn Nanase was just a person who really loved his younger brother and would be willing to fight the world if it meant Riku could be happy. In that way they were a bit similar, Riku’s smile was what mattered the most to Iori and while he still thought that Tenn’s way of showing affection was a bit extreme, he could respect being protective of those he loved. “I understand, but just know that I have no intentions of hurting Riku, ever.” Iori said this with confidence, hoping it might ease Tenn’s worries, if only a little bit. 

The corners of Tenn’s mouth twitched upwards involuntarily and he nodded at Iori in an approving manner. At this moment, Riku entered the room with three cups of tea which he placed on the table before sitting down in the sofa, right in between Iori and Tenn. The three of them kept talking for a while. Later that day, Riku and Tenn’s parents came home. Seeing how Iori was there they wasted no time and promptly invited him to join them for dinner. In the end, it had been quite a successful day and standing by the door, Iori and Tenn managed to exchange a smile to each other before saying goodbye. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you I suppose.” Tenn said, once again shaking Iori’s hand. “Yes, it was nice. Thank you for having me.” Letting go of each other’s hands they turned to Riku who had been watching their every interaction closely all day. Tenn sighed and patted Riku’s shoulder. “You found a good boyfriend, I’m happy for you.” He then waved at Iori and walked up the stairs, disappearing from sight. 

Riku followed Iori outside. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you to the station?” Iori took a hold of Riku’s hands and smiled while shaking his head. It’s getting colder, you should head back inside before you catch a cold.” Riku nodded. “Thank you for coming over today, I’m glad you and Tenn-nii got to meet. It felt like it went quite well?” 

“Yeah, I don’t think we have to worry about him anymore, and he wasn’t so bad, once you get over all his threats and so on.” Iori said with a smile. Riku laughed awkwardly, however, he was soon interrupted by a sneeze. Seeing this Iori pulled him into a hug. “I should get going now, you need to get back inside.” He pulled away and looked at Riku who nodded. “I’ll see you around? We’ll have to get at least one more date in before school starts for you again.” Riku stated to which Iori agreed. 

Riku was about to turn around and go back inside when he felt Iori wrap one arm around his waist, grabbing Riku’s chin with the other and pulling the redhead in for a kiss. Riku immediately relaxed in Iori’s arms, he brought his own hands to rest on Iori’s shoulders. They stayed like this for a couple of seconds, lips connected while holding onto each other. They slowly pulled away and then said their goodbyes. But before Iori even had the slightest chance of separating from Riku they heard the front door open and an angry voice shouting. 

“I changed my mind! I’ll kill you Iori Izumi! Get your hands off of my brother!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it, ever the overprotective brother I guess? But I feel like Iori and Tenn really will get to know each other better in the future, and while Tenn will always be protective of his baby brother, I think he also clearly sees just how much Iori means to Riku. Anyway I really hope you liked this, I have also decided that I will not post anything more for this fanfic, so this oneshot marks the official end of "Did you order some company?" It's been a ride, but ultimately, I'm really happy with how it turned out! As always, your kudos and comments make me super happy and I really appreciate each and every one of them! So thank you so much! <3  
> Side note: I may or may not be working on a new multichapter ioriku fanfic, and I may or may not plan to start releasing it soon, so you may or may not want to stay tuned... ;)


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